Princeton-area census of feathered friends is one of the nation’s oldest
By: Jake Uitti
MONTGOMERY The Princeton area’s annual Christmas Bird Count, one of the oldest bird counts in the nation, will be conducted this weekend.
The findings constitute a database of the winter bird population that can be used to track, for example, the movement of a species or how many individual species there are in an area, said Brad Merritt of Rocky Hill, a participant in the Princeton area count.
The Christmas Bird Count is a Citizen Science project of the National Audubon Society and seeks to involve volunteers in the process of collecting bird population data at a time of year when a "baseline" population of birds is present.
Lou Beck, the organizer of this year’s Princeton-area count, said he is very enthusiastic about the event.
"It is a chance for a whole lot of people to get information about the birds that are in the area," Mr. Beck said. "Migration is pretty stable right now. … We choose this time of year because (the birds) aren’t moving around too much."
The survey method involves designation of "count circles" with a radius of seven miles, which are then divided into sections with teams of birders assigned to each section. All counting is done in a 24-hour period, which can be set by local organizers for any date in the last two weeks of the year. Originally, Mr. Merritt explained, the count was done Christmas Day.
Laurie Larson a participant, as well as the compiler of the data in this year’s count said the event is a chance to meet up with other birders and "is an important annual event," which aims to do "something useful for conservation."
The National Audubon Christmas Bird Count tradition began as an alternative to hunting and shooting birds, which was the holiday tradition in the early 1900s, Ms. Larson said.
The Princeton count was founded by the Princeton University ornithologist Charles H. Rogers, and it has been held since 1901 and continuously since 1927, Ms. Larson said. A wildlife refuge in Princeton Township adjacent to the Institute Woods and Stony Brook is named in Mr. Rogers’ honor.
Princeton’s count date this year is Sunday. The count’s circle centers on the Graduate College tower on Springdale Road. The circle extends east nearly to Cranbury, north to Griggstown and Harlingen, west to Pennington, and south to Lawrence; it includes Hopewell Township, Plainsboro, Montgomery, Kingston and West Windsor.
On average over the past three years, the Princeton area has had about 50 observers in the field in about 20 parties, who spend about 165 "party hours" in the field. Counters usually find an average of about 88 species of birds and an average of about 36,000 individual birds with birders coming across a lot of Canada geese, Ms. Larson said.
Counts now take place all over the world, Ms. Larson said, though most are still in North America. More than 50,000 volunteers take part in about 2,000 counts worldwide. Data are published online, in a cooperative program between the National Audubon Society and Cornell University. A national summary report for participants is also available each year.
The Princeton Christmas Bird Count is sponsored by the Washington Crossing chapter of the National Audubon Society. Participation and support also come from the Plainsboro Preserve and the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association.
Participation is open to anyone with interest in birds and has basic ability to identify them; novices are assigned to teams with more experienced participants, Ms. Larson added. A full day in the field, dawn to dark, is expected.

