Bird count at Oak Orchard Swamps pushed back a week
Photo by Celeste Morien: This Turkey Vulture is shown in the Oak Orchard Swamps.
BASOM – The annual Christmas Bird Count that was scheduled for Dec. 29 has been pushed back a week due to the powerful winds forecast for Dec. 29.
Those winds, with gusts that could reach 70 miles per hour, make it unsafe for people to be out in the wooded areas, said Celeste Morien, the county compiler.
Last year, 41 counters found 70 species and just over 12,000 individual birds.
The Oak Orchard Christmas Bird Count began in December 1968. The National Audubon Society has been sponsoring Christmas Bird Counts since their inception.
The bird counters will instead be out on Monday, Jan. 5. They will be equipped with spotting scopes and binoculars from dawn to dusk.
The Oak Orchard count is centered on the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge at the Orleans and Genesee County line on Route 63. Count volunteers follow routes staying inside a designated 15-mile diameter circle.
