In the coming weeks, people around the world will venture out into their backyards, city parks, fields, ponds, lakes, and nearby forests to count the number of birds flying around participating in Audubon's Christmas Bird Count. 115+ years ago, people would relax after the Christmas festivities by shooting as many birds as they could. Big, small, colorful, drab, good to eat or just something in your backyard- didn’t matter. Shoot 'em and count 'em!
In 1900, ornithologist Frank Chapman proposed that people should go out and count the birds instead of shoot them! An idea that came too late to stem the decline of species such as the Passenger Pigeon or Carolina Parakeet, but one that started the longest running citizen science project in the U.S.
In 1900, ornithologist Frank Chapman proposed that people should go out and count the birds instead of shoot them! An idea that came too late to stem the decline of species such as the Passenger Pigeon or Carolina Parakeet, but one that started the longest running citizen science project in the U.S.
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| Savannah Sparrow from TXCS CBC 2012 |
