Counting for the birds Local bird watchers to begin annual census of bird population BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer WOODBRIDGE - Avid bird watchers are gearing up for the 108th National Audubon Society's Annual Christmas Bird Count. There are counts in Middlesex County as well as in the surrounding areas, including Somerset County, Sandy Hook, Long Branch, Assunpink, and Princeton. The Great Swamp-Watchung Ridge Count will be held Dec. 15, and the Raritan Estuary Count will be held Dec. 30. "This is an event that occurs across the entire country," said Tom Ostrand, who has been participating in different counts for 10 years. More than 50,000 avid bird watchers participate in the all-day census of earlywinter bird populations. "These annual censuses provide vital data about the population and distribution of birds across the Western Hemisphere during early winter," said Ostrand. The first counts date back to December 25, 1900, when ornithologist Frank M. Chapman, an early officer in the Audubon Society, suggested the replacement for the then-popular practice of holiday hunts, which entailed teams of people who would compete to see who could shoot and bring home the biggest bag of feathered prey. The replacement was a Christmas Bird Census that would count birds during the holidays rather than hunt them. The Christmas Bird Count season is from Dec. 14 through Jan. 5. The counts have grown from the original 27 participants on 25 separate counts in 1900 to over 57,000 people and 2,050 counts in 2006. "Last year's counts, from the far north of Canada's Northwest Territories to the southern tip of South America, recorded over 69 million birds," said Ostrand. "The 29 counts in New Jersey recorded 205 different species." Ostrand said new participants are always welcome to the counts. "The more eyes and ears available, the more birds that can be spotted and identified," he said. "Each team always includes an experienced bird watcher to help nail down the exact species." Ostrand said that in 2006, the Raritan Estuary team counted 67,487 individual birds of 98 different species. The Great Swamp team found 39,703 birds of 81 species. The various species sighted last year include starlings, Canada geese, grackles, sparrows, as well as the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, barn owl, pileated woodpecker, and loons. If interested in helping out with counts for the Raritan Estuary, which spans 15 miles across Edison, Metuchen, Woodbridge, New Brunswick, most of North Brunswick, Perth Amboy and South Amboy, contact Tom Ostrand at (732) 549-8118 or e-mail him at tostrand@gmail.com. For the Great Swamp-Watchung Ridges count, contact Pete Axelrod at (908) 660-4609 or e-mail him at paxe155@hotmail.com. For more information about the counts visit www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/index.html.