” … 25 kilometre square, centred on Belleville’s city hall. We divide that area into 10 different areas with 10 different groups of people that will go out and count birds in an entire circle.”
Last year’s count was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Wheatley explains, “There will be two or three people per area (in the Quinte area) so about 30 people counting. Each area has sort of borders. So, for instance, the Moira River is a border directly through area one, which is on the east side of Belleville and area two which is on the west side of Belleville.
“They count as many species and as many birds of each species as they can that day and at end of the day they give me their results and I add them all up. The areas are quite big. They could be several kilometres by several kilometres. You actually have a fairly large area. So you drive around on city streets or on county roads. One person’s driving, the other person’s looking for birds and they’re tabulating all the birds they can count.”
A few people will count at the bird feeders.
“Some people will go out for 24 hours (to count). We typically go from dawn and then they’ll go maybe do four or five hours. At night they listen for the owls. Some people take photos. ”
“Primary purpose is to count birds. As the years go on we can sort of tabulate the species. How the species are doing health wise. Whether the numbers are going up or down. We’re measuring long term trends not just in Belleville but right across North America.”
He added, “Some species we notice are moving further north. It may be climate change or other factors. Other birds are just sort of disappearing due to various factors. We get many birds, 60 species and 7000 or 8000 birds. Lots of chicadees.”
