VERNAL, Utah – Bird Watchers, Gather! The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources hopes you can assist with an upcoming bird count at the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Utah.
Wildlife officials ask for bird watchers to help count the birds
The 122nd Audubon Christmas Bird Count is taking place in several locations, 26 of them in the state of Utah alone. But on Saturday, December 18, DWR will be working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Audubon Society to conduct a bird census at the Ouray Refuge in Uintah County.
Volunteer bird watchers are given specific instructions for each of the 26 bird counts across Utah. Everyone is given a route to drive or hike, looking for and listening to birds along the way. The goal: to quantify how many birds (and bird species) live within a circle with a diameter of 15 miles.
“During these annual censuses, we have collected information on birds for more than 100 years,” said Tonya Kieffer-Selby, DWR’s Regional Conservation Outreach Manager, in a press release. “We use the data to assess the general health of the bird populations and to implement all protective measures that are necessary for the survival of the species.”
Why it matters
Kieffer-Selby noted that more than 3 billion birds have disappeared from North America in the past five decades, and called them environmental indicators.
“The data we collect on our native birds provides valuable information for global conservation efforts,” said Kieffer-Selby.
The Christmas Bird Count takes place nationwide from mid-December to mid-January. Bird watchers can visit the Utah Birds website for more details about the Utah bird counts.
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