Southern Wisconsin is home to a wonderful diversity of habitats and birds, including in winter! The annual Christmas Bird Count is a great citizen science project that involves meeting other enthusiastic birders and helping collect important data about birds at the same time.

Mark Martin and Susan Foote-Martin, resident managers of Goose Pond Sanctuary, have been coordinating the Poynette Christmas Bird Count since 1981. They continue that tradition again this year with the count on Saturday, December 30 (snow date: Sunday, December 31).

We would like 6 additional volunteers to count at Goose Pond Sanctuary, as well as 4 additional volunteers to count at Erstad Prairie and Schoeneberg Marsh WPA in Columbia County. There will be quite a bit of hiking, possibly through snow.  

FIELD TRIP/OUTING LEADERS: Mark Martin and Susan Foote-Martin (goosep@madisonaudubon.org, 608-333-9645)

APPROX. DISTANCE WALKED: 2-3 miles

MORE ABOUT THE CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

The Christmas Bird Count, held annually throughout North America between mid-December and early-January, is a snapshot of where bird species are found during the winter season. Birders count the number and individuals of species over a 24 hour period, and submit the data to National Audubon. This project is important for estimating distributions and populations, and find oddities in nature (e.g., what is that Clay-colored Sparrow doing in Wisconsin in December?). It is considered the longest-running formal citizen science project in the nation, now in it’s 124th year! Learn more here.

Cover image by Arlene Koziol. Waterfowl use Goose Pond during the cold months of the year.