Being Prepared  for the SV-CBC Makes a Huge Difference For A Teams Success!
• Our Goal is to celebrate this century old CBC tradition of a full day birding adventure and a great dinner celebration at the end of the day. We have fun, are ranked amoung the best in the United States and desire quality birding participation which result in good "citizen science". This takes  advanced planning and a team effort...skin in the game!  Everyone Counts! We had 155 and 168 species respectively in the past two years.  Can we beat that?  We now have a good benchmark!

• Celebration & Tabulation Pot Luck Dinner Follows the Count!
(Andrews Hall -  Sonoma Comm. Center -276 East Napa St. off the plaza.   
What to Bring is based on your birthday - 4 Seasons! 
Winter - main dish  (we have a kitchen for warming)
Spring - dessert
Summer - appetizers
Fall - Salad or side dish
We supply a variety of drinks.  You can also bring wine or what you like!
note: If anyone is interested in helping with setup you can contact  us. 939-8007

• Our Birding Leaders - Expert Birding Leaders are critical to our success. They are volunteering and in charge of birding a specific Area and appointing leaders. Lots of advanced scouting and planning makes this day work. Please do your part to be prepared early.... Help with land access, show up on time, be a serious listener, spotter, recorder or counter. Review the bird list and brush up on your skills. Teams strategically move through an assigned area to achieve the very best results possible in a very few hours of daylight. We also encourage birders to ID owls pre-dawn and at dusk beginning right after midnight on 12/29. Teams  are often on private property that requires special advanced permission, manners and respectfulness.

• Sonomabirding.org role - We put the baseball league together to play this one game season. We help leaders creates  30-40 balanced birding teams in the 15 mile diameter circle. We supply the official maps and required materials to team leaders. We call land owners and promote the event.The final tabulation is presented at the end of the dinner celebration by 7:15PM and then sent to National Audubon. As Compilers we do the best we can to place people where they can be most helpful to the overall "citizen science" effort. 

• Typical Team =  3-7 people. Small balanced teams cover lots of territory and find birds! Non birders are drivers and measure distances traveled, record the birds, spot, count, listen and of course support our experienced birders.

• Cost - Team leaders will collect the $5.00 participation fee when you arrive in the morning which is sent to National Audubon. Sign up on your official team list the morning of the event. A check can be written to Tom Rusert - note on check - 'SV-CBC Compiler'... if necessary.

• Weather - We are an "all weather" bird count just like the birds! Fair weather birders will enjoy helping with the dinner celebration at the end of the day.  Safety is an important factor always. The rest of us go out and bird the conditions.

• We officially have 24 hours to find and record our birds plus "Count Week".
Dawn - Friday, 12/28 is  6:23 am and sunrise at 7:25am.  Sunset will be at 4:59pm and dark at 6:02pm.  Owling is over this 24 hour period. There is a high tide of 6.4 ft. at 6:35am, a low tide of 0.2 ft.  at 1:34pm and 2nd high tide of 4.0 ft. at 8:18pm.

• Count Week (CW) - Begins 12/25 Christmas Day  and allows for counting 3 days before and after 12/28.  We record these birds separately but this is very important in case we don't see the specific bird on count day.

• Feeder Watch - for those unable to get around or have a tight schedule.  Contact us directly at 939-8007 for the rules.  This is a line item to the total count.

• When do we see the most birds - Most bird species are best seen and heard very early in the morning and late  afternoon. That is why we get up and out at the crack of dawn to identify lots of bird species.  Check out last two years results for your Area on the home page!

• What to Bring:  Comfortable walking shoes, quiet clothing, Binoculars, bird guide, water, walkie talkies if you have them snack for lunch and an adventurous attitude. Teams enjoy a break for luch and review of strategy for the afternoon.  (phones don't work in many remote areas).

• Bone up so your helpful to your team!
 Participants may hike/walk/canoe or bike through lots of unique terrains - comfort & warmth is critical -good shoes or boots, layers, sun/rain gear & comfort matters.   We drive and measure distances to get to destinations.
• Be familiar with your bird guides, for quick ID’s 
• Practice sighting birds with your optics (always lift your glasses to your eyes) while watching the bird.
• listening is critical to finding the birds
• Study the area your assigned.