Greetings Stevi CBC participants! The Stevi CBC will go ahead as scheduled on Saturday, December 26. Unfortunately, due to Covid we’ll have to do things differently this year. Our first priority is keeping everyone safe. We won’t be able to gather as a group in the morning or for lunch, and we shouldn’t be carpooling with anyone outside existing familiar or social “pod” groups. Counters should practice appropriate social distancing and/or wear masks. Have fun, but be safe!

Folks wanting to participate as field observers should contact me (Dave Lockman, 406-381-7679; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). We’ll work with the area leaders to try to be sure that we cover as much of the circle as we can without too much duplication of effort. So if you have a particular route you’ve done before and would like to do again, great! If you’ve always wanted to check out a new area, or if you have access to bird on private land, perfect! But please contact me so we don’t have everyone packed into one area while others go uncounted. 

Other than the Covid precautions, nothing has changed for folks participating as feeder watchers, and you can operate as normal. Just remember, counts in your yard should be reported as feeder counts. If you also go driving somewhere, those birds should be reported separately for the count area they were observed in. As last year, Susan Nelson (815-482-3734; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) will be coordinating the feeder watcher efforts.

I can provide electronic versions of the tally forms and maps, or I can mail them to you if you give me enough lead time. They haven’t changed since last year, so many of you already have them. 

Wishing you a safe holiday season, and I hope you can all participate in the Stevi CBC again this year!

Dave Lockman, compiler

406-381-7679; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.