The Christmas Bird Count, a long-standing program of the National Audubon Society, provides an early-winter bird census, where volunteers follow specified routes through a designated 15-mile (24-km) diameter circle, counting every bird they see or hear all day.

It’s not just a species tally—all birds are counted all day, giving an indication of the total number of birds in the circle that day. All individual CBC’s are conducted in the period from 14 December to 5 January (inclusive dates) each season, and each count is conducted in one calendar day.

The first CBC was done on Christmas Day of 1900 as an alternative activity to an event called the “side hunt” where people chose sides, then went out and shot as many birds as they could. The group that came in with the largest number of dead birds won the event.

Frank Chapman, a famed ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History and the editor of Bird-Lore (which became the publication of the National Association of Audubon Societies when that organization formed in 1905) recognized that declining bird populations could not withstand wanton over-hunting, and proposed to count birds on Christmas Day rather than shoot them.

CBC participants are organized into groups—or field parties—by the organizer or Compiler of each Count. Each field party covers a specific area of the 15-mile diameter circle on a specific route. And anyone is welcome to participate, since Compilers arrange field parties so that inexperienced observers are always out with seasoned CBC veterans.

As long as you live within a designated CBC circle, you are welcome to count the birds at your feeder. All you’ll need to do is contact your local Compiler so that you may report your results on the Count Day.

Please do so before the CBC period, which is 14 December through 5 January every season, by selecting "Get Involved" from the CBC webpage.

Links: 178 Bird Species Put on WatchList 2007 by Audubon

Important Bird Areas of Pennsylvania

Disappearing Habitat, Disappearing Common Birds

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12/7/2007