Like almost everything else in the year of the coronavirus, the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count will have a different look this winter.
Although it is called the “Christmas Bird Count,” the event can be held any day from Dec. 14-Jan. 5. The Cypress Creek-Katy Prairie count, which is restricted this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, will be held Friday, Jan. 1.
The bird count is a census of Western Hemisphere birds that has been held every year since 1900, and the Katy Prairie Conservancy has been hosting them since 1977. There are about 25 counts being held in the Houston area. For information on each event, click here.
Bob Honig is a naturalist and an area leader for the project. He will be trekking out to the conservancy on count day as he has for almost 40 years.
The counting area is a circle with a 15-mile diameter, Honig said. It is not limited to the prairie conservancy, but also some private properties where the landowners have agreed to let birders do their stuff.
“(The birdwatchers) cover the areas as well as time and energy allow,” the naturalist said. “It’s a midnight-to-midnight period, but I don’t know many people that go midnight to midnight.
“I happen to live within the count circle; so if I happen to wake up in the middle of the night, I might drag myself out of bed and stick my head outdoors to see if I can hear an owl and then go back to bed, but that’s the extent of my crazy nighttime efforts,” he said.
Honig said he goes out about 30 minutes before sunrise to start his bird count and then he continues until sunset.
Normally the birders will go out in groups of three or four, but this year, in an effort to maintain social distancing, he said he plans to send people out in pairs.
“This year it’s only going to be me and my wife and I’m sending the other two people I usually bird with to locations that probably wouldn’t have been covered in the past,” he said. “So, there’s a benefit there.”
Since 1977, the Cypress Creek-Katy Prairie count has averaged 137 species of birds. In the first year, just 100 were observed, but since then the event has grown.
“The more eyes you have, the more chances you have to see more species,” Honig said.
Activity comes back to the prairie
The bird count will bring some activity to the prairie. Events at the preserve have been scaled back because of the pandemic, said Mary Anne Piacentini, president and chief executive officer of Katy Prairie Conservancy.
The popular Unplugged Adventures, which gives people a chance to enjoy activities such as bike riding, stargazing and kite flying in the preserve, have mostly been canceled, but some areas still are open.
“The Matt Cook Memorial Wildlife Viewing Platform has been open seven days a week and our Ann Hamilton Trail at our Indiangrass Preserve has been open Tuesdays and Fridays,” Piacentini said.
The key was finding a way to allow people to enjoy the preserve remotely.
“It has been a crazy year, but we’ve been able to pivot and have managed to do a lot of things virtually and we’ve been able to reach a whole bunch of new people,” Piacentini said.
Life has continued at the preserve during the pandemic.
“The prairie itself has done pretty well,” she said. “We’ve done some restoration projects, including a just-finished 145-acre wetland on our Indiangrass Preserve. We are also restoring 400 acres of prairie on the Warren Ranch and we’ve done prescribed burns.
“We’ve pretty much continued to operate, but just without all of the people who help us not just take care of it, but also begin to learn to love it. That part’s been hard. But the virtual programming has been able to reach a pretty expansive new audience, which has been great.”
Fundraising to keep the preserve going has been trying, she said. An annual gala had to go the virtual route, which cut donations by about half.
Still, Piacentini said funds are still coming in.
“We’re in the middle of our annual appeal right now and we’re at 80 percent of our goal, which is pretty good,” she said. “But checks are still coming in.
Conservancy gets support
“People have been very supportive. It’s been a very difficult year. We have a lot of people that work in (the) oil and gas (industry) and we have a lot of people that support other charities as well, especially groups that are supporting the needy, people who are hungry, people who have lost their jobs and we get it. We are grateful for the fact that people continue to support us.”
Keeping the prairie preserved is important, Piacentini said.
“There’s a subtle beauty to the prairie and it’s a great wildlife habitat, but it also sequesters carbons so it helps improve air quality,” she said. “Our wetlands are also called ‘nature’s kidneys’ and not for nothing, because the water that goes into them comes out cleaner when they have runoff. So, the water quality is improved.
“It’s also great for mental health. Even during a pandemic, you can get outdoors and enjoy nature. It helps you calm down and feel better. It helps you realize that there is light at the end of this tunnel.”
For more information on the conservancy, visit https://www.katyprairie.org/.
John DeLapp is a freelance writer. He can be contacted at texdelapp@gmail.com.
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Christmas bird count continues at Katy Prairie despite pandemic - Houston Chronicle
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