The Ocracoke and Portsmouth Island Christmas Bird Counts, normally held on the last two days of the year, will be modified.
This is because the last two days will fall on a Saturday and Sunday. To accommodate the Cape Lookout National Seashore staff and its volunteers, the Portsmouth Count will be on Friday, Dec. 29. Ocracoke will be the following day, Dec. 30.
These bird counts began on Christmas Day 1900. Ocracoke joined the thousands of others in 1982 and Portsmouth in 1988.
Some birders have quipped they consider these count days as their Super Bowl of birding, with its long hours, sometimes adverse weather and challenges to their identification skills while counting birds, such as the thousands of Double-crested Cormorants.
Last year, Ocracoke tallied 80 species and Portsmouth 65. Portsmouth and Ocracoke Christmas Bird Counts shed light on birds present in winter
The Carolina Bird Club has the details about the North Carolina and South Carolina Christmas Counts. You can find this information by clicking here
If you are interested in participating in either of these two counts, contact the compiler, Peter Vankevich, via Facebook or [email protected].