Christmas Bird Counts

Bastrop County has two Christmas bird counts.  There is no fee for participating in either count.

Bastrop-Buescher Christmas Bird Count  This CBC, covering the state parks and more, was founded in 1977 and led for many years by Dr. David Mitchell. Beginning in 2012, Laurie Foss and Sheila Hargis were the count compilers. This year’s 2019 count will be headed by Shelia Hargis. The count has always been performed on New Year’s Day. Hargis would welcome also feeder watchers, so if you live within the circle and have bird feeders, you can participate without leaving home by sending in your count. For more specific information about the Bastrop CBC including a map showing the count circle, go to www.bastroptxcbc.com. Email Shelia Hargis at bastroptxcbc@gmail.com to register.

BBCBC: January 1, 2018. After you sign up, you will be assigned to a team or some may be asked to be the leader of a team and given team participant data. The leaders will contact their team about where and when to rendezvous to begin the day. Lunch plans are up to the team. All teams will meet to report their results at sunset with Shelia Hargis. 

The Lost Pines Christmas Bird Count began in December, 2011, jointly initiated and managed by the Lost Pines Hyatt Hotel and McKinney Roughs Nature Park (LCRA). Since the 2016 count, McKinney Roughs is managing the count. Its map covers generally western parts of the county. Around the central event there typically are skill-building workshops, tee shirts, and a meeting of participants to get started on the morning of the count. McKinney Roughs Nature Park address: 1884 Hwy. 71 West, Cedar Creek.   To get to the site to pre-register, search for Lost Pines Christmas Bird Count and click on "Register."

LPCBC for 2019: December 29, 2019, 6:00 a.m.

For archived bird count data for all years for the Bastrop-Buescher CBCs (code txbb), or for the Lost Pines CBC (code lpcbc), go to National Audubon at audubon.org and begin a search for CBC results. The current previous count, of course, is easier to access.