Don t miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
BRATTLEBORO â It was a brutally cold morning on Saturday, but that didnât keep die-hard birders from participating in the Audubon Societyâs 121st annual Christmas Bird Count.
In Brattleboro, 20 field observers, with another 16 birders at their feeders, counted a record 5,877 birds Saturday, representing 56 different species, said Cory Ross, the local coordinator for the citizen-science project. Ross said the temperature tipped to three below when he started Saturday morning on the West River near The Marina Restaurant.
Ross said Sunday that Saturdayâs record count was âhelpedâ by tallying 1,400 starlings.
He said that unlike other years, the coronavirus pandemic necessitated some changes, as observers out in the field maintained their social distance from others. The birders also had to postpone their traditional pot luck supper, and instead met Saturday night over Zoom to exchange their experienc