----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, January 09, 2004 11:28 AM
Subject: Zion News Release
Hey Judy, thought you might like to see this....
Subject: Zion News Release
January
9, 2004
For Immediate
Release
Ron Terry
435-772-0160
04-01
Zion
Participates in 104TH National Audubon Society Christmas Bird
Count
The 2003 Zion
National Park Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday, December 27, 2003. The
count was open to birders of all skill levels. The thirty people participating
in the Zion Christmas Bird Count were among the 55,000 volunteers involved in
the 104th annual, nation-wide, Audubon Christmas Bird Count.
Zion participants counted 3,983 birds and 73 species throughout the park
along with other areas in Springdale, Grafton and Rockville. Together, they
braved the snow and thirty-degree temperatures and logged 146.5 miles on foot
and 83 miles by car. Some participants traveled from as far as Salt Lake City,
many live in Southern Utah. The unifying bond between these people seems to be a
love of birds and the outdoors.
Each count group had a designated area 15 miles in diameter ? about 177
square miles ? where they covered as much ground as possible within a 24-hour
period. The data collected by each group was sent to the National Audubon
Society headquarters in New York and is published in a special book-sized
edition of National Audubon
Society Field Notes magazine.
This year, over 55,000 volunteers from all 50
states, every Canadian province, parts of Central and South America, Bermuda,
the West Indies, and the Pacific Islands counted and recorded every individual
bird and bird species encountered during one calendar day. Over 1,980 individual
Christmas Bird Counts were held in 2003-2004.
Apart from its attraction as a social, sporting,
and competitive event, the annual count reveals interesting and scientifically
useful information on the early winter distribution patterns of various bird
species and the over-all health of the environment. Articles in the 103rd
Christmas Bird Count issues of American Birds helped
ornithologists better understand the magnitude of the effects of the West Nile
virus on regional populations. In addition, count results from 1900 to the
present are available through Audubon's website www.audubon.org/bird/cbc.
For over a century, the Christmas Bird Count has
provided invaluable insight in to the status of bird populations. The count has
proven to be a perfect example of how volunteer-generated data is important.
For more information about
the Zion count, contact Ranger Kristy Sholly at
435-772-7612.
David Eaker
Fire Information and
Education Specialist
Zion National Park
Springdale, UT
84767
435-772-7811
david_eaker@nps.gov