THE HOLIDAYS ARE full of our feathered friends.
Partridges, turtle doves, French hens, calling birds and swans all receive verses in “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
And for some a Christmas goose serves as the focal point of a holiday repast.
Back in the olden days, some of those birds were hunted as part of a tradition known as a Christmas “side hunt.”
The New York Times defined a “side hunt” as a “traditional killing binge in which Americans went festively into the woods to compete in shooting as many birds and small animals as they could within the holiday.”
Conservation as we know it today was in its infancy at the time, but these Side Hunts took their toll, leading scientists to express concern on declining avian populations.
A new tradition began 115 years ago this Christmas, according to the Audubon Society.
“Beginning on Christmas Day 1900, ornithologist Frank M. Chapman, an early officer in the then nascent Audubon Society, proposed a new holiday tradition — a “Christmas Bird Census” — that would count birds during the holidays rather than hunt them,” the Audubon Society web site said.
The side hunts eventually petered out, but the Christmas bird count became a yearly tradition, especially here on the North Olympic Peninsula.
Three such bird counts are planned over the next month in Jefferson and Clallam counties.
The Sequim-Dungeness Christmas Bird Count is set Monday.
The count will occur in a 15-mile diameter area centered near the intersection of Brown and Port Williams roads. And the circle covers an area from Dungeness Spit on the north to the Olympic foothills south of Sequim and from Diamond Point to McDonald Creek.
Last year’s count totaled 140 bird species, the second-best total of any Audubon group in the state.
Sequim residents can contact Bob Boekelheide at bboek@olympus.net to sign up for the count.
Jefferson count
The Admiralty Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count will be held Saturday, Dec. 19.
The count is an all-day event open to anyone wishing to participate.
Half-day participants and home feeder-watchers also are welcome.
The Admiralty Audubon count circle is a 7.5-mile radius centered near the Indian Island ship dock and is divided into 13 sections, with a team of three or more individuals assigned to each section.
Team leaders for each section will make arrangements with the rest of their group for a meeting place and time (usually between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m.) the morning of the count.
Anyone with bird feeders in the count circle who can spare at least one hour to watch their yard are encouraged to participate.
A few more “expert” field birders as possible team leaders are needed.
Participants should bring cold and wet-weather gear, binoculars, a scope if available, lunch and snacks for the day.
A notepad and pencil or electronic recording devices, field guides, camera and a thermos with something hot also are recommended.
There will be a countdown potluck after the count at the RoseWind Commons in Port Townsend at 5 p.m.
For more information, email danwags57@gmail.com or phone Dan Waggoner at 360-301-1788.
PA bird count
The Port Angeles Christmas Bird Count will be held Saturday, Jan. 2.
The count covers a 15-mile diameter circle centered in Port Angeles. This ranges from Sieberts Creek on the east to Freshwater Bay on the west, and from Ediz Hook south to Hurricane Ridge.
Last year’s count totaled 123 bird spieces.
Barb Blackie is coordinator for the Port Angeles count. To sign up, email blackie@olypen.com.
Commission in PT
The state’s Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet in Port Townsend on Friday and Saturday.
The meetings will be held at the Northwest Maritime Center, 431 Water St., starting at 8 a.m. Friday and 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
The most important agenda item concerns decisions on proposed changes to sport fishing regulations.
State Department of Fish and Wildlife staff will seek approval from the Commission on rules changes for the 2016-17 fishing season.
This includes prohibiting wild steelhead and rainbow trout harvest on many North Olympic Peninsula rivers.
Separate topics include a Puget Sound rockfish conservation update, a briefing on shellfish enforcement with a focus on bi-valve species and a status update on the boat launch project at Point No Point in Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet).
The full agenda for the two-day event is available at tinyurl.com/PDN-Fishmeeting.
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Outdoors columnist Michael Carman appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
