Tucson Audubon’s Newest Tradition: CBC4KIDS!

Guest post by Deb Vath

What a Christmas Bird Count! This year 14 kids, ages 5-16, participated in the Tucson Audubon CBC4KIDS. Our number one goal? Have fun birding! 

Families and friends took kids birding at various locations throughout the Tucson Valley on Saturday, December 17th. Each group gave their team a name, such as “The Wumpus Warblers”, “Team Safford”, and “The Coot Counters”. They then birded their area for 2 hours and met back at Himmel Park Library for a celebration which included pizza, raffle prizes, free Year of the Hummingbird calendars, and participation certificates.

Dorian filling out the Big Board

All species were tallied on the “Big Board” and compiled by young birder, Dorian Escalante. “Wow, I didn’t think we’d see that many species,” said Dorian as he counted 74 species tallied.

Students from Ironwood Tree Experience spent time birding KERP (Kino Environmental Restoration Project) with one of their teachers. These experienced teen birders have volunteered to lead outings at the new Kids Birding the Parks! outing being held on January 28, 2017.

Special thanks to Luke Safford for his help in organizing this fun event. It looks like the CBC4KIDS will be a new Tucson Audubon tradition!