Special to the PRESS
SAN BENITO—Valley residents, Winter Texans, visitors, birders and those just getting interested in birding are invited to join a team in the count areas for the annual Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count.
The CBC is a one-day event per area within established count circles. The local counts are listed below with contact information for those interested in joining a team.
Dec. 14, Coastal Tip, naturalist@spibirding.com
Dec. 17, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, jd.mckee@outlook.com
Dec. 22, Weslaco, john.yochum@tpwd.texas.gov
Dec. 27, Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, txlacbc@flanwr.org
Dec. 30, Anzalduas-Bentsen, roy.rodriguez@tpwd.texas.gov
Dec. 31, Harlingen, hgtxcbc@gmail.com
Jan. 1, 2023, Falcon Dam and State Park, idratherbebirding@gmail.com
Jan. 4, 2023, Brownsville, karl.berg@utrgv.edu
The Coastal Tip area encompasses Laguna Vista, Laguna Heights, Port Isabel, South Padre Island and south to the Rio Grande River. McAllen, Hidalgo, Sharyland, Pharr, San Juan and Alamo are within the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge Circle.
Individuals can count birds in their own yard if it is within one of the designated areas. Contact a team to find out if a personal yard is within a designated area. A list of birds and information will be sent upon request. Those who have a yard full of birds in a count area are encouraged to invite a team; they may be able to visit on count day.
For a quick check to see the area of a count, go to the map at the following site and expand and drag the map to bring up the area within the specific circle: https://audubon.maps.arcgis.
Alternatively, go to this link and click on the highlighted link for the map view: https://www.audubon.org/
Novice birdwatchers are encouraged to join a team. Extra eyes help spot birds for the experienced birders to identify; the more novice birders get valuable experience in bird identification and habits.
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