There were six teams of participants for this years’ Christmas Bird Count for Kids, which was held on Saturday, January 5. This program is modeled after Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count, which is a census of birds by volunteer birdwatchers. Before heading out on the trail, families learned how to use binoculars and how to identify birds. Each group led by a guide, explored trails at either Reinstein Woods, Stiglmeier Park or Como Lake Park in search of birds. We recorded 25 different species of birds and 367 individual birds. Some notable birds include an Eastern screech owl, pilleated woodpecker, Cooper’s hawk and red-tailed hawk. Afterwards everyone enjoyed pizza for lunch and a quick presentation of the findings of each group. You can view the bird data collected here.

Thank you to everyone that participated, especially for our volunteer guides Brian Engler, Daniel Mlodozeniec, Brittany Rowan, photographer Paul Bigelow, and DEC Biologists David Malinowski, Jacquie Walters, and Ann Wilcox-Swanson.

Back in January, Reinstein Woods participated in its first ever “Christmas Bird Count for Kids” with assistance from DEC Wildlife Biologist Connie Adams, Beaver Meadow Audubon Society and the Erie County Park Rangers. This is an educational, kid-friendly version of the Audubon Society’s citizen science project called “Christmas Bird Count”. Citizen science projects such as the Christmas Bird Count provide important data that is used to monitor animal populations.

We are pleased that more than twenty children and their parents showed up to learn how to find and identify birds for this event. Many species of birds were observed, including: Blue jay, Northern cardinal, black – capped chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, red-bellied woodpecker, downy woodpecker, tufted titmouse, American goldfinch, mallard duck, Canada geese, and more.  A total of 17 different species and 259 individual birds were recorded at Reinstein Woods, Stiglmeier Park, and Amherst State Park. The young participants enjoyed using binoculars and the pizza lunch afterwards. We look forward to even more participation in next years’ Christmas Bird Count for Kids!

Group Bird Presentation

Group Bird Presentation

Stiglmeier Park

Looking for Birds

Learning to use Binoculars

Group Picture

Group Bird Presentation

Group Bird Presentation

Group Bird Presentation

Looking for Birds

Looking for Birds

Listening for Birds

Young Birders

Group Bird Presentation

Group Bird Presentation