40th Annual Fort Peck Bird Count Dec. 20

The 40th Annual Fort Peck Christmas Bird Count (CBC) will be held this year on Dec. 20.

In the last 39 years we have found a total of 128 species within the Ft. Peck CBC circle, including Bald Eagle, Mallard, Common Goldeneye and Black-capped Chickadee, which have been seen in every one of the counts. There also many species that have been seen in all but one or two of the counts. Two new species were found last year – Common Raven and Ferruginous Hawk.

Christmas Bird Counts are held in all of North America and in places like Antarctica, and in the far north of Alaska, where only one species is regularly seen – Common Raven. This will be the 115th CBC held since it was started. Each count takes place within a circle of 15 miles in diameter. The center of the Ft. Peck count is the flag pole.

Anyone interested in participating in the Ft. Peck Christmas Bird Count should contact Chuck Carlson at 526-3245 or [email protected].

We would like to get a fairly accurate count of participants so that we can plan on how many crews we will have to cover the circle, but we can accommodate anyone who decides at the last minute.

We will meet at Carlsons at 7:30 a.m. There will be coffee available while we get things organized. We will start out at about 8 and finish around 3:30-4 p.m. We will return around noon for lunch and re-planning as needed.

A final tallying of the count will be done after 5 p.m. Anyone within the circle who has feeders and just watches from the window can submit their count by either calling them in to Carlsons or by stopping by to report.