Volunteers recorded 220 species of birds during their annual Christmas bird count on Saturday, more than last year, San Diego Audubon reported Tuesday.
About 130 volunteers divided into 35 teams took part in the annual event that was focused on a 15-mile radius around the Sweetwater River. The area encompasses the Sweetwater Reservoir, Tijuana River Valley, the ocean to about five miles off the coast and urban areas north to University Heights.
Audubon volunteers found 209 species last year. The number makes San Diego one of the most diverse of 2,400 counts that take place in the western hemisphere, according to the group.
The organization keeps track of bird species as a bellwether of climate change and health of the local ecosystem.
“We know bird populations respond to changes in our climate — we’ve watched the winter range of hundreds of bird species move nearly 40 miles to the north in just the past 50 years,” said Chris Redfern, executive director of San Diego Audubon. “The Christmas bird count helps us recognize such trends, collect data and better understand the effects of climate change so we
can prioritize local conservation efforts to match.”
The total count of individual birds that were spotted was still being compiled.
— City News Service
