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The 9 a.m. walk will be the first time that the Closter Nature Center will conduct an event on its grounds for the Bergen County Audubon Society's annual event.
“It’s a Christmas bird count for winter birds,” said Mary Mayer, a trustee with the Closter Nature Center. “We’re looking at the birds who winter over. We welcome highly skilled individuals as well as beginners.”
The event is part of a larger program that includes activities run by roughly a dozen other nature centers in the area and individuals who keep an eye to the sky on what birds thrive in the area during the winter months.
Spotters will use binoculars to distinguish a cardinal from a crow, and a chickadee from a blue jay, as they refer to their lists. Even those who cannot identify the species can record what they see.
Reference books will also help. However, the study is not meant to serve as a way to record bird populations.
“Some birds winter over, meaning they find food to live on. If some of the ones that used to show up aren't around, it's noticed. If there are new and unusual ones, they are noticed.” Mayer said. “We take the best estimates."
The event will happen rain or shine, and neighbors are invited to record their own sightings from home as well to be included in the society's report.
MORE INFO: marym812@aol.com
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