The 2011 Oceanside
Christmas Bird Count (CBC) 
** Please Join Us! **

All Participants Are Invited To The
Compilation Party/Celebration At The Nature Center

After a morning of counting birds, we all gather at the Buena Vista Audubon Nature Center where volunteers will serve participants our traditional “Chili-And-Other-Good-Stuff” luncheon (yes, including vegetarian!)  luncheon from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.   The luncheon is always a festive event, with old and new friends meeting and exchanging information on the more than 15,000 birds and nearly 200 species expected to be tallied in the count circle. 

At 2:00 p.m. we’ll assemble in the nature center’s meeting room to share the birds seen that day by all 30 teams, sometimes refered to as "The Sacred Reporting Of The Lists.”   If you’ve never been at a “compilation party” or "reading of the list" before, don’t be shy.  It’s very informative and educational to hear what birds were seen that morning – especially the rarities; there’s always some juicy surprises!  We’ve designed the luncheon and meeting to be an informal forum to meet, get to know each other, feel comfortable and most importantly, have fun. 

The Buena Vista Audubon Society Nature Center is located at 2202 South Coast Hwy., Oceanside, on the east side of street just north of the Buena Vista Lagoon crossing.  Nature Center Phone: (760) 439-2473.  Google Map of Buena Vista Audubon Society Nature Center, Duck Landing and Hosp Grove.

NEW BIRDERS: PLEASE JOIN US AT DUCK LANDING
All Birders Invited To Participate

If you' re new to birding and would like to join in the Christmas Count, you're invited to become a part of this fun and very rewarding holiday birding tradition.  Family groups and new birders are welcome to join Tom Troy at “ Duck Landing ” at the east end of Buena Vista Lagoon (directions below) for a combined birding class and bird count from 8:30-10:30 a.m. on December 26, followed by birding from several other vantage points of the lagoon.  No experience or registration is necessary.  

Tom and other experienced birders will be at Duck Landing to help you learn to identify and count the many birds of Buena Vista Lagoon.  The birds you count will be included in the tally for inclusion in the official Christmas Bird Count totals.  A mandatory $5 participation fee defrays a portion of the cost of tabulating and publishing the count results by the National Audubon Society and Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

If you have field guides, binoculars or a spotting scope, please bring them along.  Loaner telescopes, binoculars and bird guides will be available.  After a morning of bird counting you’re invited to join us at the Nature Center for our chili luncheon (see below).   Dress warmly - it can be nippy standing about, looking at birds on a late December morning.  Warm shoes, layered jackets/sweaters and even mittens, scarves and warm wool beanie caps won't be out of place. 

At about 10:00 a.m. Tom and the leaders will lead a car caravan to several other vantage points over the lagoon to look for the White Pelicans and other species that winter here.  As the morning progresses, you'll be counting birds from a number of different locations around the lagoon.   

So, please join us at Duck Landing on BOXING DAY, Monday morning, Dec 26, 2011, at 8:30 a.m. where you'll learn identification tips and skills on how to spot and identify male and female Mallard, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, Canvasback, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Surf Scoter, Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Pie-billed Grebe, Western Grebe, Eared Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Snowy Egret, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, American Coot, Marbled Godwit, Western Gull, California Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Anna’s Hummingbird, Black Phoebe, Cassin’s Kingbird, Yellow-rumped Warbler,  Common Yellowthroat, White-crowned Sparrow, Californian Towhee, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle and who knows what else (there are always half a dozen “bonus” species… we just never know what they are ahead of time!).

Driving Directions to Duck Landing:  Exit Highway 78 at Jefferson and turn south. Drive past the lagoon (on your right) to the stoplight. Turn right and immediately pull into the Duck Landing parking lot on the right.  If the lot is full, proceed 200 feet to the Hosp Grove Park lot.  Click map link below for visuals.   Google Map of Duck Landing, Hosp Grove and the Buena Vista Audubon Society Nature Center.

Questions about the birding class/count at Duck Landing?  Contact leader Tom Troy at (760) 967-6915 or Oceanside CBC coordinator/compiler Terry Hunefeld at thunefeld@gmail.com.