Merry Christmas Bird Counts!

'Tis the season... for Christmas Bird Counts!

But... What exactly is the much-celebrated Christmas Bird Count, and why does it matter?  

Why spend a frigid winter day (or several days!) outdoors, peering through binoculars and spotting scopes while trying desperately to stay warm enough to retain the use of your extremities?  

I'm glad you asked!

A Christmas-y looking Western Bluebird on the La Grange/Waterford Christmas Bird Count


The history of the Christmas Bird Count dates back to 1900, a time when it was more common to hunt birds rather than count them.  In the 19th and early 20th centuries, competitive "side hunts" took place on Christmas as teams of men armed with guns headed into the field to shoot as many birds as possible.  The side with the biggest pile of feathers at the end of the day won.  (Barbaric, no?)

On Christmas Day in 1900, ornithologist Frank Chapman of New York began a new tradition, one in which teams armed with binoculars rather than guns took to the fields and woods to count birds, rather than kill them.  

That first year, twenty-five counts took place across North America, including one in Pacific Grove, California!  Of course, the majority of counts took place in New England and the eastern U.S.: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania each hosted a few of the very first Christmas Bird Counts, while a small handful took place in the Midwest.  

On December 25, 1900, twenty-seven birders on twenty-five different counts tallied a grand total of eighty-nine species.  

And so, the long and cherished tradition of Christmas Bird Counts began!  

A majestic slightly goofy-looking Osprey, at Modesto Reservoir

From its humble beginnings, the Christmas Bird Count has grown into the longest running citizen science project in North America.  Run by the National Audubon Society, the Count is eagerly anticipated each year by professional ornithologists and amateur birders alike.  Data from over a century of CBCs has been used to track population trends, contributing immensely to our current understanding of the status and health of avian populations in North America.  

Today, there are over 2,000 Christmas Bird Count "circles" in 20 countries in North, Central and South America, and something like 80,000 participants turn out each year to count as many birds as possible, obtaining an incredible annual snapshot of wintering bird populations. 

Spotted Sandpiper, Modesto Reservoir

Christmas Bird Counts take place annually during a three week window around Christmas.  Each individual count area, a circle with a diameter of 15 miles, is surveyed once during a 24 hour period between December 14th and January 5th.  Typically, each circle is subdivided into smaller sections, with a team of birders assigned to each area.  

The task is simple: count every bird you see.  Every.  Single.  Bird.  Common or rare, native or introduced, each and every individual bird matters on a Christmas Bird Count!    

Female Red-winged Blackbirds, Modesto Reservoir

This year, my team surveyed the area around Modesto Reservoir and a tiny section of the Tuolumne River, both of which are part of the La Grange/Waterford Christmas Bird Count.  All told, our team ended the day with a grand total of 65 species.  

The total number of species for the day across the whole count circle (which includes open water, small sections of wetland, expanses of grassland, and riparian areas) was 113!  Not bad at all!  (View the trip report here.)

A cold but beautiful morning at the reservoir!


There is still time to join in the fun on your local Christmas Bird Count this year!  To find a Christmas Bird Count circle near you, check out this map!

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