The 126th Christmas Bird Count Summary

On a chilly December morning, I packed my snacks and binoculars, threw my coat on, and rushed out the door to meet my CBC counting group for my local circle in Fort Collins, CO. In doing so, I was one of thousands of people across the hemisphere taking time out of their week to contribute their birding skills to this bigger cause. To me, the Christmas Bird Count has always been a happy marriage of birding (a dear passion of mine), socializing (precious to someone with a busy schedule and young kids), and tradition (like many birders, I’ve been doing CBCs every year since I discovered birding). Neither bad weather nor long hours can dampen my excitement for the endeavor. Many of my fellow CBC participants feel the same way, whether they are bundling up to face wind and snow, grabbing rain jackets to avoid getting too wet, or spraying on sunscreen and bringing extra water to head out into heat and humidity. Whatever the reason that motivates people to join their local CBC, their contributions matter. I hope that in the back of every CBC participant’s mind is the knowledge that they are making this incredible program – the longest-running bird count in the world - possible.

The Christmas Bird Count has been steadily growing in recent years, and this year was another record breaker. During the 126^th CBC, there were 2,701 counts completed (473 in Canada, 2,051 in the United States, and 177 in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Pacific Islands), surpassing the previous high count of 2,693 that took place last year. We added 35 new circles for the 126^th CBC (2 in Canada, 24 in the United States, and 9 in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Pacific Islands, Table 1). We added new circles in 4 countries in Latin America: Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peri, continuing a trend of growth in this region. New this year, Audubon scientists have been able to produce bird population trend estimates for 44 species from 182 count circles in Latin America and the Caribbean. Adding circles and maintaining counts in the region will strengthen these estimates and allow further analyses in the future.

The 126^th CBC was also a record-breaker for the number of participants. This year, a total of 85,222 participants (including 74,229 field observers and 10,993 feeder counters) counted birds across the hemisphere. This is the most the program has ever seen, breaking the previous record of 83,186 set during the 124^th CBC. We had 15,577 observers in Canada (11,886 field observers and 3,691 feeder watchers), 65,136 observers in the United States (58,179 field observers and 6,957 feeder watchers), and 4,509 observers in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Pacific Islands (4,164 field observers and 345 feeder watchers). Organizing so many birders is a huge effort, and is done each year by hundreds of dedicated compilers, sector and group leaders, and community engagement leaders: a new role introduced to help with recruiting, organizing, and welcoming participants into the count.  In some circles, very large numbers of birders joined to collect data. Table 2 lists the 104 counts that had 100 or more participants in the 126^th CBC.

Participants documented a formidable 2,435 species plus 427 identifiable forms and hybrids on the 126^th CBC. This is slightly down from last year’s tally - 2,503 - but higher than the previous year’s 2,380. CBCs in the Unitd States reported 664 species with 84 infraspecific forms and 31 exotic species. The Red-tailed Tropicbird at Midway Atoll, HI was a new species documented for the first time on a U.S. CBC. Other species new to CBCs in the U.S. were documented only during count week, including Rock Ptarmigan (Unalaska Island, AK), White-tailed Ptarmigan (Aspen, CO) Sabine’s Gull (Columbia Estuary, OR), Gray Gull (Sarasota, FL), Boreal Owl (Fairbanks, AK), Gyrfalcon (Confluence, MO, and Ninepipe N.W.R., MT), and Bank Swallow (Salton Sea (south), CA). Canada also added one new species to its CBC list, the Eurasian Bullfinch (Watson Lake, YT). Two other new CBC species for Canada were documented only during count week, Little Gull (Pictou Harbour, NS) and Yellow-throated Warbler (Cheticamp, NS).

We added 11 new species to our full program Christmas Bird Count list this year. A large majority (91%) of which were documented in circles in Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Colombia, and Mexico. These include Cactus Canastero and White-throated Earthcreeper (Arequipa, Peru); Sumichrast's Wren (Córdoba, Veracruz, México); Gray-cheeked Nunlet (Puerto Lara, Darién, Panamá, Cerro El Peligro, Bolivar, Colombia, and Santuario de Fauna y Flora Los Colorados, Bolivar, Colombia); Darwin's Nothura, Junin Canastero, Mountain Caracara, and Tit-like Dacnis (Cusco, Peru); Elliot's Storm-Petrel (Isla Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador); and Roraiman Flycatcher (Runahurco-Gualaquiza, Morona Santiago, Ecuador). The Eurasian Bullfinch (Watson Lake, Yukon Territory, Canada) was the only new species added to the full CBC species list that was counted outside of Latin America.

The birds documented on CBCs are always influenced by weather and environmental conditions during and prior to the count. During this year’s count season, December 14, 2025 – January 5, 2026, there were contrasting seasonal weather patterns across the hemisphere. The eastern and central regions of the United States as well as Alaska and Northern Canada saw cold winter weather with significant winter storms, while the western U.S. and Canada had unusually warm weather with significant precipitation at lower elevations but low snowpack in the mountains. Some of these weather and flooding events caused CBC delays, cancellations, or limited the surveyable area for some circles. Conditions were generally warm with localized heavy rainfall across the southern U.S., Central America, and South America, with some periods of extreme heat or flooding.

The cold winter weather in the eastern part of North America resulted in lower species and bird numbers for counts in many regions; with states from Virginia to Michigan and Minnesota seeing decreases from their usual count numbers. Thrushes seemed to be the exception, with sometimes record high numbers of American Robins and Hermit Thrushes reported in New Jersey, Iowa, Minnesota, and over into Montana. The middle and southern states saw more accommodating weather across the count period, and some states, including Kentucky, Missouri, and South Carolina, had high species counts and excellent rarities. While counts in the northwestern part of North America were disrupted by storms and flooding events, other western states enjoyed mild weather. Perhaps due to favorable conditions, California and Nevada both had an excellent year for warblers, with numerous sightings of rare warblers like Ovenbird, Louisiana Waterthrush, Prothonotary Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Nashville Warblers, Kentucky Warbler, Cape May Warbler, and high numbers of the more common warblers like Common Yellowthroat, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Yellow-rumped Warbler.

As the climate changes, more birds are shifting their winter ranges across the hemisphere, and the CBC tracks these shifts every year. Several examples can be seen in the regional CBC data this year. For example, Common Raven had record high numbers in Virginia CBCs as part of its expanding range eastward. White Ibis, a species that has been slowly expanding its range northward along the Atlantic coast, had record high numbers in Virginia, and was also documented in New Jersey (the third record for a New Jersey CBC). South Carolina saw huge numbers of Black-bellied Whistling Duck, a species that has been expanding northward since the 1970’s. Both Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures have been expanding their wintering ranges northward across North America, and this pattern is seen in high Turkey Vulture counts in Virginia and high Black Vulture counts in Missouri. The western coast saw higher numbers of American Kestrel, especially California, Oregon, and Vancouver. One theory is that the invasive European Wall Lizard in British Columbia may be serving as a new food source for the birds during the breeding season, resulting in the higher winter numbers documented on this year’s CBCs.

All-to-often CBCs document bird population declines, but there are also conservation success stories to celebrate. An example that stands out from this year’s count is from the Midway Atoll circle in Hawaii. The endangered ʻEkupuʻu, or Laysan Finch, was reintroduced to Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll) in July of 2025. This native honeycreeper once thrived at Kuaihelani, but was extirpated in the mid 1940’s due to introduced rats on the island. Re-establishing and expanding populations of Laysan Finch will help reduce extinction risk for this species that occurs in isolated and vulnerable populations in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The Midway Atoll Circle documented 8 of these reintroduced birds during their CBC, tracking their continued presence in their new home, and adding a new species for the count!

While all CBCs strive to document as many species as they can, one benchmark for Christmas Bird Counts (especially for those doing their counts in areas of high bird diversity) is documenting 150 species or more on their count. All of the CBCs that tallied at least 150 species are listed in Table 3. High Species Counts by Region can be found in Table 4, and might reflect effort, weather and local conditions on count day, and of course, luck.

Finally, we have the total number of birds. During the 126^th Christmas Bird Count, participants counted a total of 43,815,563 birds, including 39,983,998 birds in the United States, 3,313,890 birds in Canada, and 517,675 birds in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Pacific Islands. This number is slightly down from last year’s total (44,259,423), but up from the previous year’s counts of 40,871,030 (124^th) and 40,298,635 (123^rd). This number reflects a troubling pattern we have seen most noticeably since 2014: despite steady increases in the number of circles surveyed and the effort data reported, we continue to see large declines in the total raw counts of birds. CBCs continue to document known declines in bird populations, and conservation efforts are more important than ever to slow and ultimately reverse these declines.

As the longest-running bird count in the world, the Christmas Bird Count is an incredible force for bird conservation. This count provides an irreplaceable snapshot of bird populations each year, contributing to our understanding of these populations and the conservation action and policy decisions we need to take to protect them. Recognizing the importance of this program – and the need to support its success into the future – Audubon has invested in a CBC modernization. Over the next three years, we'll be transforming the count to enhance the experience for participants while welcoming new communities across the Americas. That will involve updates to all aspects of the program, from how people learn about and join a CBC count, to the technology used to support the effort, and even how we share and use the data collected. ​

As Audubon’s Community Science Team reflects on this year’s count (and looks to the future), we are incredibly grateful to all of the participants, compilers, sector- and group-leaders, community engagement leaders, and regional editors who make the CBC successful. We understand how much time, effort, and care everyone puts into this program, and we truly couldn’t do it without you!

Tables

Table 1. New Counts in the 126th (2025-2026) Christmas Bird Count

Table 2. Counts with 100 or more participants in the 126th (2025-2026) Christmas Bird Count

Table 3: Counts with 150 or more species recorded in the 126th (2025-2026) Christmas Bird Count

Table 3a:  Counts north of the United States-Mexican border

Table 3b:  Counts south of the United States-Mexican border

Table 4:  Regional high counts for the 126th (2025-2026) Christmas Bird Count