Join COS for the 73rd Annual Lisle Christmas Bird Count! Every year on a wintery Sunday in December, birders sally forth to count birds and contribute their sightings to the oldest continuously running citizen science project in the world. The count circle includes a wide variety of habitats from the forests of Palos to the pine plantations of the Morton Arboretum to the open grasslands of Green Valley.
The day of counting birds will be followed by a Virtual Count Down and Celebration.
WHEN: The Lisle-Arboretum Christmas Bird Count (CBC) takes place on Sunday, December 19, 2021.
WHAT: We will count all the birds, by species, that are in our "count circle" on the count day.
WHERE: The Lisle Arboretum Count Circle is the 15 mile diameter area centered on the intersection of Cass Avenue and 75th Street in Darien (Du Page County). For more information about what areas are in the count circle, and also a map of the circle, click here.
WHO: You! All are welcome to join our endeavor: veteran and novice alike. If you have a pair of binoculars and are excited to see and count birds, you’re in the right place. You don't have to be an expert. We will match up people who have never done a CBC before with participants who have.
HOW DO I SIGNUP? Send an email to the CBC Compiler with your name, address, telephone number and email address. Please RSVP by Saturday, December 11th.
COST: Participation in the count is free.
Countdown Dinner
Traditionally, all CBC participants are invited to gather at the end of our count day for drinks, dinner, camaraderie, and swapping tales of the day's birding. Dinner is followed by "the countdown" where we total up observations to see how we did progressing from the most common species to the rarer and rarer observations revealed at the end. Will new trends emerge? Will records be broken?
Due to continued COVID-19 concerns, this year’s countdown dinner will be once again held online via zoom on Tuesday, December 21st at 7pm. All are welcome to attend and celebrate with our intrepid CBC counters!
RSVP for the CBC countdown here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0vdOCrqjMoE9zyUY0iZOFnAgk4F_-bcbmU
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.