FEATHERED FRIENDS TO BE COUNTED ON HOLIDAY AUDUBON TRADITION CONTINUES LOCALLY AND ACROSS THE WORLD.Byline: Judy O'Rourke Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - It is time for bird lovers to dust off their binoculars and flock together to tally feathered fliers in Santa Clarita's fourth annual Christmas bird count The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is a census of birds in the Western Hemisphere, performed annually in the early Northern-hemisphere winter by volunteer birders. The purpose is to provide population data for use in science, especially conservation biology, though many people . Participants on Wednesday will be joined by tens of thousands of bird counters across the globe who are taking part in Audubon's 106th Christmas Bird Count. ``We started the count a few years ago, mostly in response to changes in the area, development and loss of habitat,'' said Dan Cooper, the former director of bird conservation for Audubon California. ``There is some science involved, but it is mostly a community event ... it's being outdoors, seeing a side of your community you didn't know existed.'' By their very nature birds are active, defying counters' attempts to be precise. The count is not intended to measure an absolute number of birds in an area, but is helpful in measuring changes in bird populations. The data are entered into what Audubon calls the ``longest running database in ornithology ornithology Branch of zoology dealing with the study of birds. Early writings on birds were largely anecdotal (including folklore) or practical (e.g., treatises on falconry and game-bird management). , representing over a century of unbroken data on trends of early winter bird populations across the Americas.'' The standardized protocol includes a 7.5-mile radius and a 24-hour counting period. Cooper said local habitats are among the last places in the coastal slopes of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County to find birds like the hairy woodpecker The Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) is a medium-sized woodpecker. Adults are mainly black on the upper parts and wings, with a white back, throat and belly and white spotting on the wings. There is a white bar above and below the eye. , golden eagles, roadrunners and the prairie falcon prairie falcon n. A large, square-headed falcon (Falco mexicanus) of western North America, having dark brown back feathers with pale edges and faintly spotted whitish underparts. . ``A lot of birds that require wide open spaces are getting scarcer but are still hanging on,'' Cooper said. ``It is part of an effort to track changes through the years. It is an early warning signal when birds start declining or disappearing.'' Last year more than 30 people showed up for the activity. In addition to monitoring common species' numbers, each year some rare birds are spotted, including a vesper sparrow or a plumbeous vireo vireo, small, migratory songbird of the New World. Some species nest in the United States, but the majority are tropical. Vireos (also called greenlets) range from 4 to 6 1/2 in. (10.2–16. . The counting will begin around 7 a.m. and pause at noon for lunch. Cooper said die-hard counters can stay on into the afternoon and evening, when the owls come out. Small groups of counters will visit spots along San Francisquito Creek The San Francisquito Creek is a creek that flows into San Francisco Bay in California, United States of America. Its headwaters are in the Santa Cruz Mountains above Menlo Park, around 667m (2000 feet) above the Bay. , Bouquet Canyon, Castaic Lagoon and Placerita Canyon. Judy O'Rourke, (661) 257-5255 judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com IF YOU GO Volunteers will meet to count birds at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday at Western Bagel, 23170 W. Valencia Blvd., Valencia. Bring binoculars and mittens. CAPTION(S): box Box: IF YOU GO (see text) |
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