Don't Count Your Chickens
I’m creating a lot of bird imagery at the moment and it was probably inevitable I would discover the Auburn CBC.
The history of the tradition is what really fascinates me. In the late 19th century neighbourhoods would gather for a “Side Hunt”. It involved teams of people journeying out on a designated route and shooting anything with feathers (and often fur) regardless of whether it was useful as food or game. Whichever team returned with the biggest pile of carcasses won the competition.
To me, on this side of the pond, this sounds so stereotypical, Stoopid American. (“Hoo-Weee Billy-Bob! We gonna shoot oursells some critters!”) I guess the whole idea was likely to have been thought up by a European settler. I can hardly imagine the indigenous peoples inventing such a wasteful exercise.
In 1900 Frank M. Chapman and a small group of early conservationists, concerned over the whole affair, re-invented the concept to become a Christmas Bird Count. They prescribed the teams to count and record the number and types of birds observed instead of killing them. The records were sent to a central office and the figures were collated and published early in the following year.
The annual event has spread across the continent and, for many, has become a main staple of the seasonal traditions. The bird census figures have become vastly important records providing invaluable data that have helped track and monitor the bird life and their habitats all over the American continent for over a century.
So, I would like to congratulate my Colonial Brethren! You have turned a senseless slaughter into a remarkable, community based activity that preserves rather than destroys. It’s a rather amazing feat. One the world could learn from.
But can you count your chickens? – I’m not sure they’re allowed!
