Larry Cartwright, 57, who works for the U.S. Department of Defense on intelligence issues, is the D.C. compiler for the National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count, held across the Americas each winter. The count has created more than a century’s worth of scientific data.
What is the Christmas Bird Count?
It started in 1900 as an alternative to the Christmas Side Hunt, where people would take sides and shoot as many birds as possible. The count started as a protest and evolved into a tradition to just go out and count the number of birds they can find in a certain area.
What have you found this year?
I haven’t finished compiling the data, but trends show that a lot of common residential species — the Carolina chickadee, tufted titmouse, the white breasted nut hatch — birds that took a huge beating with the western Nile virus, have adapted to the virus and their numbers are coming back.
The other story is that not all species are fading away due to suburbanization. Some are able to thrive as suburban neighborhoods mature and the trees grow back.
How many eagles are in the nation’s capital region?
In winter, you can find a dozen in the mud-flats at Hunting Creek, south of Alexandria along the George Washington Parkway. Seeing eagles has become so commonplace that people aren’t as excited as they once were. It’s a paradox.
Why is it important to count birds?
It depends on your perspective. If you value the existence of wildlife, and want something other than concrete, it’s important. If wildlife is not important to you, then this has no value. The count helps people get into nature, walk the meadows, walk the streambeds, see birds living their lives. You see the wilderness of it. The beauty attracts people. It’s not a hobby for control freaks, because you have to do it on the birds’ time, not yours.
