The Sixth Annual Cortes Island Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was held December 17th, 2005, and was again co-sponsored by the Cortes Island Museum and Bird Studies Canada. Due to the timing of the holidays, this year’s count date was approximately two weeks earlier than in previous years. The goal of the CBC is to count the number of individual birds observed of each species within a specified area during a 24 hour period. The weather this year cooperated with a partially cloudy and calm day, with temperatures hovering slightly above freezing. The fog which covered Cortes for much of December was luckily absent. During the count the 17 participants were divided into 4 groups. Previous birding experience was not a pre-requisite as each group had a number of seasoned birders willing to share their knowledge. In addition to the 4 groups, 12 people volunteered to independently make observations of their backyards and feeders.

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