By Frank Gardner, Bedford Town Coordinator
Fourteen Bedford residents participated in the 2018 Concord Christmas Bird Count on December 30. The team observed over 650 birds of 31 different species in the Bedford survey area.
The most common species observed were dark-eyed junco, house sparrow, and black-capped chickadee. Exciting highlights included 4 great horned owls, 2 coopers hawks, 10 eastern bluebirds, and 2 red-breasted nuthatches.
The participants formed several field parties to ensure thorough coverage of the count area. In addition, several participants who happen to live within the count area were able to participate from the comfort of their living rooms by tallying birds using their birdfeeders.
About the Christmas Bird Count and the Concord Christmas Bird Count
The Christmas Bird Count is the longest-running citizen science project in North America and is owned and operated by the National Audubon Society in partnership with Bird Studies Canada, the North American Breeding Bird Survey, and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.
The Concord Christmas Bird Count is one of over 2,500 active count circles in the Americas and Pacific Islands. A count circle is defined by a center point and a radius of 7.5 miles. Our circle is centered on a point where the town lines of Concord, Acton, Maynard, and Sudbury converge.
The first Concord CBC bird count in 1960 had seven small parties in Concord and a single volunteer representing neighboring Lincoln, growing in 50 years to become one of the largest count circles in the U.S. measured by the number of participants, now about 280.