Christmas Bird Count for Kids in Sonoma, Jan. 13

To hear Tom Rusert tell it, the Christmas Bird count for Kids – CBCK – is a runaway success. Nationally, that is.

Locally, not so much.

“Last year we had seven kids show up,” said Rusert, who with his partner Darren Peterie co-founded the youth-oriented bird count 10 years ago, right here in Sonoma Valley. He hopes to beat that number this Saturday, Jan. 13, when kids and their parents are invited to show up at the Barracks at 9:30 a.m. for a “binocular boot camp” and ornithological orientation before the family bird count, which goes until 1 p.m.

But while there are few if any sign-ups so far, the national status of the CBCK – in fact the international status – is widespread and growing. “We just had our first in Catalina Island and in Nantucket, and we're setting up a new one in Connecticut,” said Rusert. “I just got off the phone with Ukiah, they want to do a Mendocino kids' count up there.”

Last weekend, over 100 kids showed up in Point Reyes for its eighth annual CBCK, and another 60 were in Petaluma for its ninth. There are also CBCK groups in Baja California and every province in Canada, and Rusert is going to a world conference in Vancouver soon to introduce it on the world stage. Which makes the poor turnout for the Sonoma Valley CBCK all the more disappointing, given that this is home habitat for the now-international event.

The first bird count for kids was held in Sonoma in January, 2007, when Rusert and Karin Niehoff of the Crescent Montessori School designed a program for young naturalists called “Budding Birders.”

“We have Tom to thank for bringing this annual opportunity to the community,” said Nieoff, characterizing the bird count as “uniting citizen scientists of all ages.”

It was a spin-off of the adult-birder Christmas Bird Count that Rusert and Peterie brought to Sonoma in 2005. The national Christmas Bird Count itself was first launched in 1901, itself an update of a 19th century Christmas bird hunt tradition.

One factor in the declining turnout of young birders in the Valley might be that Sonoma Birding, the driving organization behind the CBCK, is focused on the growth of the event they founded – and are quite successful, too, with over 150 programs across North America, most of them in Canada.

Also, Rusert and Peterie make their effort to grow CBCK “all out-of-pocket,” and don't have the resources or time to fully produce the local Christmas Bird Count for Kids. They left their Sonoma Community Center base a couple years ago and, while the State Parks is graciously hosting them at the Barracks, there's no real email outreach to young people or their families.

“With the fires this fall it's been confusing,” said Rusert. “And not having a formal sponsor that can sign up kids in the Valley makes it difficult.”

The logical partner might be Sonoma County Regional Parks; in December they held a Christmas Bird Count for Kids at Spring Lake, co-sponsored by the Madrone Audubon, the county's largest chapter of the National Audubon Society. Regional Parks also has monthly “Winging It Wednesdays,” leisurely bird walks designed especially for older adults and their friends, on the last Wednesday of every month. That doesn't necessarily leave them much bandwidth to promote another local family-oriented count.

California's state parks system, in particular Jack London State Historic Park in Glen Ellen, might prove a valuable partner, said Rusert, who hopes to engage both the state parks system and the nonprofit Jack London Partners to open up the park's nature center to more birding-oriented activities.

Whatever the future of the Christmas Bird Count for Kids, last month's Christmas Bird Count, held Friday, Dec. 29, was a qualified success. The species tabulated matched the 13-year average, 165, though total number of birds was down. “The fires burned out a lot of habitat, so a lot of birds were shifting around.”

That can have its advantages, for birders: for only the third time, a Lewis's Woodpecker was spotted in the count, among the 99 acorn woodpeckers seen at the Vallejo Home. The dark, slow-flying woodpecker has more of a flycatcher behavior, swooping from its perch to catch insects in flight.

Such unusual sightings can make any day watching birds an adventure, and a delight, for birders of any age.

This year's Christmas Bird Count for Kids is Saturday, Jan. 13, at 9:30 a.m. Dress warmly and wear comfortable shoes, bring binoculars and bird book. Sign up by calling 415-302-5601 or email sonomanature@gmail.com. The event is free.

Email christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.