LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Redbud Audubon Society will carry out its annual Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, Dec. 20.

The Christmas Bird Count, or CBC, is a traditional project of Audubon societies around the country. 

Former participants have been sent information about meeting times and places by the count organizers, Brad and Kathy Barnwell. The public is also welcome to participate and can do so by emailing Redbud Audubon at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information about where you can meet with the different birding groups.

On Sunday, Dec. 21, participants will meet at noon at Kelseyville Pizza for fellowship and to report the final tallies. This event is hosted by Redbud Audubon.

Before the bird count, on Thursday, Dec. 18, starting at 7 p.m. Donna Mackiewicz will host a Zoom Bird Identification program. This will be an extensive slide show featuring birds that are often seen on the annual count and birds that are common to Lake County. 

The program emphasizes the field characteristics of the common and some not-so-common birds here. 

To register for this program, go to www.redbudaudubon.org and click on the registration link on the home page. The link to join will be sent on Thursday before the program.

National Audubon has been holding a Christmas Bird Count for 124 years. The official count period usually starts around the middle of December and ends the first week of January. Local Audubon Societies can decide what day they conduct their counts within this time frame. 

Every individual bird and species encountered during the day is recorded. Each count group has a designated circle of 15 miles in diameter and tries to cover as much ground as possible within a certain period of time.

Newcomers are encouraged to join in on the bird count. You don’t have to be an expert birder to participate. Besides emailing Redbud Audubon, feel free to call Brad or Kathy Barnwell at 707-263-1283 for more information.