Birders: The Central Park Effect

Discuss the film Birders: The Central Park Effect, and the annual Christmas Bird Count with Luanne Johnson, director and wildlife biologist at BiodiversityWorks.

In the 1800s, an insane holiday tradition was hastening the extinction of bird species all over North America. The Side Hunt, held each year on Christmas Day, was a slaughter where armed participants wandered the countryside shooting at every bird and small animal they saw. Teams then tallied their kills to find out which side won. Birds were not the winners. Conservationists became increasingly alarmed, so they decided to flip the Side Hunt tradition, proposing that participants arm themselves with field glasses rather than rifles, and that they count the birds rather than kill them.

The very first Christmas Bird Count was held on Christmas Day in 1900. Today, the Bird Count is one of the largest “citizen science” efforts regularly held anywhere in the world. According to the Audubon Society, each year tens of thousands of volunteers brave snow, wind, or rain to take part in the effort. Audubon and others use data collected in this wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations and help guide conservation action.

Birders: The Central Park Effect available for viewing for free, on demand at kanopy.com with your library card.