Contact Francis Moore if you wish to participate. If you live within a count circle (see links to the PDF below) you can do a feeder watch, but otherwise you need to consult with Francis so he can ensure that all areas of the count circle are accounted for.
Download the species list to use for your count.
Saturday, December 21 – Cedar Falls-Waterloo CBC – Center of the 15 mile
diameter circle is at intersection of 1 st Street and Main Street in Cedar Falls, Black Hawk
County, Iowa to include Beaver Valley Wetland, Washington Union Access, Rotary
Reserve, Cedar Hills Sand Prairie, Falls Access, Black Hawk County Park, Big Woods
Lake, George Wyth State Park, East Lake, Hartman Reserve Nature Center, Prairie
Lakes Park, Black Hawk Creek Greenbelt and the cities of Cedar Falls, Waterloo,
Finchford and the southern half of Janesville. Get a copy of the count circle map.
We will meet at 7:00 am at the Hy-Vee Food Store on University Avenue in Cedar Falls
and receive assignments and carpool and drive into the Count Circle from there. We
usually meet back at the Hy-Vee Food Store in Cedar Falls at 12:00 pm (Noon) for
lunch and to see what bird species have been seen and which ones have been missed
during the morning so we can put extra effort to find them in the afternoon. Please plan
on counting until it gets dark to count or count during the day as long as you can before
having to leave your assigned area. Please count when you can and for as long as you
can during the day (even if is for only a few hours.)
Saturday, December 28th - Bremer County CBC – Center of the 15 mile diameter
CBC circle is at the center of Section 2, Maxfield Township, one mile north of Readlyn,
Iowa, Bremer County, Iowa to include Seven Bridges Wildlife Area, Aldo Leopold
Wetland Complex, Wapsi River Greenbelt, Sweet Marsh Wildlife Area and the cities of
Denver, Readlyn, and Tripoli. Get a copy of the Bremer County circle map.
We will meet at 7:00 am at the old Hy-Vee Food Store on Logan Avenue on U.S.
Highway 63 in Waterloo and receive assignments and carpool and drive into the Count
Circle from there. Some of us will meet at the Quick Star in Denver at about 7:15-7:30
am for those that do not want to drive into Waterloo to meet. We usually meet at the
Panther Bowling Alley in Tripoli at 12:00 pm (Noon) for lunch and to see what bird
species have been seen and which ones have been missed during the morning so we
can put extra effort to find them in the afternoon. Please plan on counting until it gets
dark to count or count during the day as long as you can before having to leave your
assigned area. Please count when you can and for as long as you can during the day
(even if it is for only a few hours).
Additional Info requested if you participate on the two above counts:
Keep a list of the species and number of individuals you have seen for the day, number of hours (time you started and ended) you counted and the number of miles (beginning and ending miles) you drove when you were count in the count circle for each CBC that you participate in and send these numbers to Francis Moore, 336 Fairfield St, Waterloo, IA 50703-1628. You can also contact him at 319-269- 0741 or at superfoot99@msn.com if you have any questions. You can also go into the Count Circle on your own if you contact the Compiler, Francis Moore, to make sure there is not double coverage for any area within the CBC Count Circle. Francis will assign an area to you so that there is not any double coverage and birds are not double counted.
Within the six counties served by PRAS, there will also be official CBC’s in Hardin,
Buchanan, and Clayton Counties.
The Hardin County CBC will be held on Friday, December 20th and is compiled by Mark Proescholdt, he can be contacted at 641-496-5219. People without a route will meet at the cabins lot at Pine Lake State Park at 8:00 a.m. Lunch will be at 1:00 p.m. at Subway in Eldora.
The Buchanan County CBC will be held on January 2nd, NW Clayton CBC will be
held on January 3rd and SE Clayton CBC will be held on January 4th, these last three
counts are compiled by Kelly McKay, he can be contacted at 309-235-4661.
Please contact Mark or Kelly if you are interested in helping with these other counts that are
close to our area.
You can also check out the Iowa Ornithologists’ Union website (iowabirds.org) to see
the dates and compilers for CBC’s throughout the state if you are interested in
participating in other CBC’s. Each CBC happens on one calendar day between
December 14 and January 5.
The year 2024-2025 marks the 125th year of this annual community science event.
New to Birding?
Check out this great brochure on getting started in this wonderful activity.
Check out this great brochure on getting started in this wonderful activity.
Wednesday Morning Birding
Thanks to all who joined us this fall on our field trips. We will resume next spring.
PRAS Field Trip Locations
If we don't have a specific field trip scheduled, feel free to go and explore on your own at these locations that we typically visit during our group field trips. If you want to lead a field trip, email Craig and Kris Rash and we will help get the word out. We are always looking for people to share their favorite spots.
Big Woods Lake, Cedar Falls. Meet in the parking lot at the Big Woods Lake South Entrance. GPS point: https://goo.gl/maps/cAmP4Ex55jABkjKy9
Cedar Hills Sand Prairie, west of Cedar Falls. GPS Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/nZyoYCtG6s9UGwU26
Cedar Valley Nature Trail, Gilbertville. Meet at the depot west of Gilbertville off Washburn Road. GPS Point: https://goo.gl/maps/q9pSn2UEVw4zVAwP7
Greenbelt Lake (aka Martin Lake), Waterloo. Meet in the parking lot off Martin Rd, which is off Highway 63. GPS point: https://goo.gl/maps/fmJddNHJy7RAgjnC6
Hartman Reserve lower level, Cedar Falls. Drive to Lookout Park and access Park Drive. Continue to the lower-level parking area. Here is the GPS point for the parking area: https://goo.gl/maps/ngamVSpBWuSTgvuh9
Hickory Hills. South of Waterloo on county Rd. V37 aka Dysart Road. Meet at the archery parking lot on the west side of Hickory Hills. GPS point: https://goo.gl/maps/qTVUyG8sYhkkYJja6
McFarlane Park. East of LaPorte City. Park near the picnic shelter. GPS Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/npTWSe2cM7nq3sny6
Prairie Lakes Cedar Falls Visitors Center, Cedar Falls. parking lot. Meet at parking lot off Hudson Road. GPS Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/WqdgnbpMHorKmsh4A
Riverview Recreation Area - Harold Getty Lake, Waterloo. At the stoplight follow Mitchell Street about 0.25 miles east of Highway 218 to the parking lot. GPS Point: https://goo.gl/maps/wcFiqZj8LbpHYbCeA
Robertson Bird Sanctuary, Waterloo. Pull into parking lot on the left (south side of the road). GPS Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/zkvN5oaYzsTUVPg69
Washington Union Access - North of Cedar Falls at Cedar-Wapsi Road (C-57). Parking lot is located on south side of road just before crossing the Cedar River Bridge. GPS point: https://goo.gl/maps/m1bfb7SbtSbvWEZT7