Yosemite National Park is participating in the annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) to be held on Sunday, December 16, 2012. This is the 81st year that Yosemite is participating in the CBC and the park has contributed over 90,000 observations to this important and fun conservation event. The park joins this event with tens of thousands of volunteers from across the country every year.
Volunteers will be assigned to different areas throughout the park, along with zone leaders, to observe and count a wide variety of bird species. This important event helps Yosemite National Park Biologists, and biologists throughout the country to assess population trends of birds observed locally, as well as nationally. Results, including photos, summaries, and feature articles describing the bird count will be published in National Audubon Society's new online delivery of American Birds.
Visitors planning to participate in this event are asked to bring binoculars, field guide, lunch, plenty of warm clothes, and sturdy shoes. This all day event culminates in a potluck dinner in Yosemite Valley at the Girl's Club (County Library) where the group will share their observations from the day.
Last year's event had 42 participants who counted and identified 2,584 birds of 70 species in the park. Some of the highlights from last year included: two Bald Eagles (one in the Merced River Canyon and one at Mirror Lake); Northern Saw-whet Owl in East Yosemite Valley; Williamson's Sapsucker on the Tioga Road; five Pileated Woodpeckers in West Yosemite Valley; and a California Thrasher near Foresta Road above El Portal.