This weekend kicks off 12 Christmas Bird Counts in the Pittsburgh area, half of them this Saturday, December 19.

Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs) are an annual opportunity to tally birds in the Western Hemisphere.  Each count is a 15-mile diameter circle manned by volunteers who count the birds they see in a single 24-hour period.

Anyone can join the fun.  Count in the field with other participants or watch at your backyard feeder.  Just contact the count circle coordinator and he or she will handle the rest.

Bob Mulvihill gathered Pittsburgh area CBC information at this helpful link on the National Aviary website.  Download the flyer that includes contacts and a map.

Here’s a quick list to whet your appetite.

• Saturday Dec 19
  • Pittsburgh South Hills
  • Buffalo Creek Valley (Butler County, Sarver area)
  • Washington
  • Clarksville (eastern Greene County)
  • Butler (Moraine State Park area)
  • Beaver
• Sunday Dec 20
  • Lower Buffalo Creek (Washington County, Taylorstown)
• Saturday Dec 26
  • Pittsburgh (includes City of Pittsburgh and north)
• Sunday Dec 27
  • Imperial
  • Bushy Run State Park
• Saturday Jan 2
  • Ryerson (southwestern Greene County)
  • South Butler (Evans City, Cranberry Twp area)

And to give you some practice, count the wild turkeys in the photo above.

Count carefully.

How many do you see?

(photo by Marcy Cunkelman)