Volunteers are needed to count birds in the New Year.
The Audubon Christmas Bird Count is the world’s longest-running community science project, where bird counters collect data which is then used to track trends in wintering bird populations.
Last year the local count had 140 field counters and 15 feeder counters counting a total of 27,075 birds consisting of
94 species.
This year, the local portion of the 2025 Count will be held on Saturday Jan. 3, 2026.
The area of the count will include a 24 km diameter circle, centred just to the west of Sheridan Hill in Pitt Meadows, and reaches as far as 248 Street in Maple Ridge and as far west as Port Moody.
The count has been taking place for the past 29 years, and the local results will be pooled with the counts west of the Pitt River and submitted to Bird Studies Canada, the Canadian organizer of the Audubon Count.
Volunteers can be one of two types:
• field counters, who can join a small team of birders who travel established routes, identifying, counting, and recording all birds seen and heard as they go;
• or feeder counters, who can record all the birds species and amount of birds, at their feeders on the count day.
The shift usually lasts for about 2 hours.
“You can join a team on either side of the river, and you don’t need to be a good birder – sharp eyes are what’s really needed and the expert birders on your team will take care of the identification. The more eyes we have the more birds we can count,” said Jennifer Tayes, who heads the local count.
Those who live within the official count circle can be a participant from home as a feeder counter.
Anyone who is interested in volunteering or who wants more information can go to the Birds Canada website, where they can sign up.
Or contact Jennifer Tayes at: jtayes@shaw.ca.
“Please let me know if you want to be a field counter or feeder counter, your skill level and where you live, and I will get you set up,” said Tayes.