Submitted by: Judy Lipp

It was a mild and foggy January morning when 10 kids and 11 moms, dads and grandmas gathered for the 2^nd annual Berwick Christmas Bird Count for Kids, organized by Young Naturalist Club, Berwick Chapter and led by George Forsyth.  We met on the last weekend of the count window – Saturday January 5, 2019.

We started the session indoors at the Berwick Legion (a big thanks to Maurice for opening the space for us) to get acquainted and prepared for the count.   We got to know each other through name games and bird theatrics – our group was pretty knowledgeable with some great bird calls and impressions.

The indoor time was fun and informative, but it meant we didn’t get out and start counting until 10:45 am.  Most of the birds didn’t wait for us, except…. quack.   We started in the Legion parking lot and saw a few Chickadees, Sparrows and signs of Blue Jays and a Pheasant.  We walked along Main Street heading east to the Berwick Sewage Lagoons.  On route we saw two Crows, a Rock Dove and a few Blue Jays.  It wasn’t until the sewage lagoons that we saw birds in any numbers and there they all were: quack.  Hundreds of ducks! We counted 420 Mallard Ducks and 36 Black Ducks.  We also spotted a Red-tailed Hawk and a few more Blue Jays.  The walk back was uneventful but the promise of hot cider and popcorn kept everyone going.

Our species list is below and here’s the link to our e-Bird submission made by George.

https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S51355300

The Xmas Bird Count is a great way to introduce young people to the important contributions made by citizen science as well as introducing them to birds in our region. I’m very grateful to George Forsyth for sharing his knowledge, passion and skill at working with young people to make this a super fun event.   And thanks to the families for coming out.   See you next year if not sooner!

Species list: 10 total