Bird Protection Quebec’s Montreal Christmas Bird Count – 76th Annual Edition

When: Saturday, December 17, 2011, from dawn to dusk

Where: Christmas Bird Counts are held within mandated 24 km wide circles. The Montreal circle is centered at the intersection of Sherbrooke Street West and Westminster Avenue in Montreal West. The following link provides a detailed map of the Montreal circle: Map of the Montreal circle.

Contact information: Sheldon Harvey and Barbara Szabo, coordinators of this year’s count, may be contacted by telephone at 514-637-2141 or by e-mail
How to get involved: You can contribute to the count in one of two ways, either as a field participant or a feeder-watcher.

Field participant: As a field participant, you will be assigned to one of several existing teams responsible for covering a designated territory within the count circle. An experienced birder leads each team and is responsible for ensuring that detailed records are kept of all species seen and counted throughout the day. There is a $5.00 fee for all field participants over the age of 18. This fee, which will be collected by your team leader on the day of the count, will be passed on to Bird Studies Canada to help fund the programme and to cover the costs of generating materials for compilers, for producing an annual CBC summary issue and for the maintenance of the CBC website and database. As part of their membership, Bird Studies Canada members are exempt from paying this fee.

•Official 2011 bird species checklist

Feeder watcher: If you maintain bird feeders at home and live within the count circle, you are invited to participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count by recording species seen at your feeders on the day of the count. Instructions on how to participate can be found by clicking on the following links:

Feeder-Watcher instructions                         Feeder-watch checklist

There is no charge for being a feeder watcher participant. However, you are asked to contact one of the Christmas Bird Count coordinators in order to register your name and location.

After-count social and compilation of results: All Christmas Bird Count participants are invited to attend an after-count social at the Montreal West Curling Club (17 Ainslie Avenue in Montreal West) where the day’s results will be compiled. Food will be provided free of charge and a cash bar will be available. Doors open at 4 p.m. with the compilation beginning at approximately 5:30 p.m. Come share your stories with us!