The weather was hostile to both birds and people, starting with a brutal three degrees above zero in the morning and spiking to an only slightly less brutal nine degrees later in the day. But on December 18, four brave volunteers from the Cedar Lake Park Association participated in the annual Audubon Winter Bird Count, known previously as the Christmas Bird Count.
Since the event was first held on Christmas Day in 1900, volunteer birders have fanned out annually across the nation to catalog bird varieties and estimate bird populations. That data is used by scientists and conservationists to assess the long-term health of bird populations and help formulate policies to promote bird diversity and stability.
The Winter Bird Count returned to Minneapolis this year after an approximately 60-year hiatus, thanks to the efforts of the Urban Bird Collective, The Loppet Foundation and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
Our Cedar Lake Park Association group birded the west side of Cedar Lake for about an hour and a half, quitting shortly before they all would have frozen. During that time, the group recorded a total of 16 species, including favorites a brown creeper, an America tree sparrow and a bald eagle.
For years, the Cedar Lake Park Association and the park board have worked together on ecological restoration to "nurture nature” at the park. Cedar Lake Park Association organizers hope the bird count will aid in the development of a comprehensive natural resource management plan for the park.
Our volunteers hope events such as this will help raise awareness of the rich natural resources that already exist at Cedar Lake Park, as well as the tremendous potential for further conservation and development. Although it would likely take years of hard work on behalf of both the park board and volunteers, Cedar Lake Park Association organizers firmly believe our park has the potential to become an urban jewel in the tradition of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and the Roberts Bird Sanctuary.
The volunteers wish to thank Park Board Commissioner Elizabeth Shaffer, who has been very helpful in supporting the Cedar Lake Park natural areas, as well as Park Board natural area staff members James Shaffer and Andrew Marotz and volunteer coordinator Sherry Brooks.
