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Bird conservation
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Christmas Bird Count
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History & Objectives
All about the Christmas Bird Count
More than 50,000 observers participate each year in this all-day
census of early-winter bird populations. The results of their
efforts are compiled into the longest running database in ornithology,
representing over a century of unbroken data on trends of early-winter
bird populations across the Americas. Simply put, the Christmas
Bird Count, or "CBC", is citizen science in action.
History
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| Frank Chapman |
Prior to the turn of the century,
people engaged in a holiday tradition known as the Christmas
"Side Hunt": They would choose sides and go afield with their
guns; whoever brought in the biggest pile of feathered (and
furred) quarry won. Conservation was in its beginning stages
around the turn of the 20th century, and many observers and
scientists were becoming concerned about declining bird populations.
Beginning on Christmas Day 1900, ornithologist Frank Chapman,
an early officer in the then budding Audubon Society, proposed
a new holiday tradition-a "Christmas Bird Census"-that would
count birds in the holidays rather than hunt them. So began
the Christmas Bird Count. Thanks to the inspiration of Frank
M. Chapman and the enthusiasm of twenty-seven dedicated birders,
twenty-five Christmas Bird Counts were held that day. The
locations ranged from Toronto, Ontario to Pacific Grove, California
with most counts in or near the population centers of northeastern
North America. Those original 27 Christmas Bird Counters tallied
a total of 90 species on all the counts combined.
First CBC: December
25, 1900
About 18,500 individual birds and 27 total participants
Cumulative bird species list:
90 species total
* Common Loon
* Horned Grebe
* American Black Duck
* Mallard
* Common Goldeneye
* Turkey Vulture
* Red-shouldered Hawk
* Red-tailed Hawk
* Ferruginous Hawk
* Northern Goshawk
* American Kestrel
* Northern Bobwhite
* California Quail
* Greater Prairie-Chicken
* Ruffed Grouse
* Killdeer
* Herring Gull
* Great Black-backed Gull
* Band-tailed Pigeon
* Mourning Dove
* Barred Owl
* Burrowing Owl
* Common Poor-will
* Anna's Hummingbird
* White-headed Woodpecker
* Red-bellied Woodpecker
* Lewis' Woodpecker
* Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
* Hairy Woodpecker
* Downy Woodpecker |
* Northern Flicker
* Say's Phoebe
* Black Phoebe
* Blue Jay
* Scrub Jay
* American Crow
* Fish Crow
* Black-billed Magpie
* European Starling
* Horned Lark
* American Pipit
* Winter Wren
* Carolina Wren
* Brown Creeper
* White-breasted Nuthatch
* White-throated Sparrow
* White-crowned Sparrow
* Golden-crowned Sparrow
* Fox Sparrow
* Dark-eyed Junco
* Eastern Meadowlark
* Western Meadowlark
* Red-winged Blackbird
* Brewer's Blackbird
* Common Grackle
* Pine Grosbeak
* House Finch
* Purple Finch
* American Goldfinch
* Red Crossbill |
* Red-breasted Nuthatch
* Pygmy Nuthatch
* Black-capped Chickadee
* Mountain Chickadee
* Carolina Chickadee
* Tufted Titmouse
* Plain Titmouse
* Bushtit
* Wrentit
* Ruby-crowned Kinglet
* Golden-crowned Kinglet
* Brown Creeper
* Northern Shrike
* Loggerhead Shrike
* Eastern Bluebird
* Western Bluebird
* Hermit Thrush
* Varied Thrush
* American Robin
* Northern Mockingbird
* Hutton's Vireo
* Townsend's Warbler
* Yellow-rumped Warbler
* Spotted Towhee
* Canyon Towhee
* Northern Cardinal
* American Tree Sparrow
* Field Sparrow
* Song Sparrow
* Swamp Sparrow |
Counts conducted
in first CBC:
25 total counts
* Scotch Lake, York County,
New Brunswick
* Toronto, Ontario
* Keene, New Hampshire
* Belmont and Cambridge, Massachusetts
* Arnold Arboretum, Boston, Massachusetts
* Winchester, Massachusetts
* Bristol, Connecticut
* Norwalk, Connecticut
* Auburn to Owasco Lake, New York
* Central Park, New York City, New York
* Englewood, New Jersey
* Moorestown, New Jersey
* Newfield, New Jersey |
* Baldwin, Louisiana
* Pueblo, Colorado
* Germantown, Pennsylvania
* Wyncote, Pennsylvania
* Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* Oberlin, Ohio
* Glen Elyn, Illinois
* North Freedom, Sauk County, Wisconsin
* La Grange, Missouri
* Pacific Grove, Monterey County, California
* Neshaminy Creek & Upper Delaware River, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
* Delaware River Meadows, Tinicum Township, Delaware County,
Pennsylvania |
What do the Count data tell us?
The primary objective of the Christmas Bird Count is to monitor
the status and distribution of bird populations across the
Western Hemisphere.
The count period, which is from December 14th to January 5th,
in North America is referred to as "early winter," because
many birds at this time are still in the late stages of their
southward migration, so it is not "true" winter. When we combine
these data with other surveys such as the Breeding Bird Survey,
we begin to see a clearer picture of how the continent's bird
populations have changed in time and space over the past hundred
years.
The information is also vital for conservation. 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.
From feeder-watchers and field observers to count compilers
and regional editors, everyone who takes part in the Christmas
Bird Count does it for love of birds and the excitement of
friendly competition -- and with the knowledge that their
efforts are making a difference for science and bird conservation.
Find out how to get
involved.
As long as there are birds to be counted, the Christmas Bird
Count will go on being the most popular, fun, and rewarding
bird census the world over!
Volunteers are the heart and soul of the CBC!
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