Are you an avid birder or a feeder-watcher? You might want to consider giving the gift of your time and viewing skills as a participant in this year's Christmas Bird Count (CBC), a long-standing program of the National Audubon Society. It is an early-winter bird census, where thousands of volunteers go out over a 24-hour period to count birds. The Christmas Bird Count is the largest, longest-running citizen science and wildlife census effort in the Western Hemisphere. The data collected by observers allow researchers, conservation biologists, and interested individuals to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America.
The first CBC was done on Christmas Day of 1900 as an alternative activity to an event called the "side hunt". People would choose sides and go afield with their guns. Whichever team brought in the most game—whether feathered or furred—won. The tradition was challenged by the conservation movement, which had been gaining traction since the middle of the 19th century. Dozens of hunting, conservation, and scientific organizations were concerned about declining bird and mammal populations. The League of American Sportsman, the American Ornithologists Union, the Camp Fire Club, the New York Zoological Society, and others all called for an end to unregulated kill of wildlife. Frank Chapman, an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History and the editor of Bird-Lore (which became the publication of the National Association of Audubon Society when that organization formed in 1905) proposed to count birds on Christmas Day rather than shoot them. The CBC still provided excitement and allowed for friendly competition—and compiled information that continues to make a difference for science and bird conservation.
Each winter, families and students, birders and scientists, now arm themselves with binoculars, bird guides and checklists and go out and count birds. The long term records made possible by the Christmas Bird Count, when combined with other surveys such as the Breeding Bird Survey, provides a picture of how the continent's bird populations have changed in time and space over the past hundred years. It informs strategies to protect birds and their habitat—and helps identify environmental issues with implications for people as well. For example, local trends in bird populations can indicate habitat fragmentation or signal an immediate environmental threat, such as groundwater contamination or poisoning from improper use of pesticides.
Since the Christmas Bird Count began over a century ago, it has relied on the dedication and commitment of volunteer citizen scientists. In other words, it all starts with you! The CBC is December 14 through January 5 each year. Your local count will occur over a 24-hour period between those inclusive dates. If you have more than one local count, they will probably be conducted on different dates within the CBC season. You can pick the most convenient date, or participate in more than one count.
There is a specific methodology to the CBC, but everyone can participate. Count volunteers follow specified routes through a designated 15-mile diameter circle, counting every bird they see or hear all day. Each circle is led by a Count Compiler. If you are a beginning birder, you will be able to join a group that includes at least one experienced birdwatcher. The CBC is 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. If observers live within a CBC circle, they may arrange in advance to count the birds at their feeders and submit those data to their compiler.
To find the posted date of a count near you, or to join a CBC, please contact a compiler from the CBC "Get Involved" page at http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/getinvolved.html before December 14th.