Press Room

’Tis the Season for the Audubon Christmas Bird Count

Words by Peluso, Beth
Communications Manager
Published December 12, 2014

From Ketchikan to Nome, every year Alaskans bundle up and gather together to celebrate the holiday season by braving the elements for the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Alaskans are creative about transportation, using ten forms of transportation last year, including cross-country skis, dog sled, kayak, and fat-tire bike. If you are interested in attending a local count, please visit the Christmas Bird Count Calendar on the Audubon Alaska website for dates and local contact details.

Groups of volunteers select a day between December 14, 2014 and January 5, 2015 to conduct a count. This year, many groups will hold their counts on December 14, since the first day of the count window falls on a Sunday.

Volunteers have 24 hours to record as many birds as possible within a 15-mile diameter circle. There are Christmas Bird Counts in all 50 states, in all Canadian provinces, several Central and South American countries, and several Pacific and Caribbean islands. Last year there were 37 counts held across Alaska. Many counts end with a social gathering to tally lists and crow over the best birds.

The count is offered as a free event. Interested volunteers can find a count near them and sign up on the National Audubon website.

First organized in the Lower 48 and eastern Canada with just 27 birdwatchers in 1900, this season marks the 115th Christmas Bird Count. In Alaska, volunteers have carried out Christmas Bird Counts since before statehood, with the first counts in 1941.

“The Christmas Bird Count is a great way for volunteers of all ages, from kids to grandparents, to participate together in one of the longest running citizen-science projects in the world,” said Nils Warnock, Executive Director of Audubon Alaska. “With more than a century of data nationwide and 70 years in Alaska, this is a powerful tool that helps scientists look for changes in Alaska’s bird populations and ranges.”

There are more birds, and bird watchers, than you might expect in Alaska in the winter. On 37 counts across the state last year, despite the Alaska record number of 1,096 observers, both the number of species (139) species and individual birds 124,854 were lower than normal. Kodiak recaptured the title of seeing the most species with 77 species observed. 

Alaska Christmas Bird Counts welcome volunteers of all skill levels. For more Christmas Bird Count dates and contact information in Alaska communities, see the Christmas Bird Count Calendar or contact Beth Peluso at (907) 276-7034 or bpeluso@audubon.org.

 

Recap of last year’s 114th Christmas Bird Count:

Anchorage and Fairbanks once again made the elite list of about 80 Christmas Bird Counts in the hemisphere with 100 or more participants. Anchorage had 133 participants, and Fairbanks rounded up 107 counters for the day.

A new species for Alaska counts was Virginia Rail, two of which were found on the Glacier Bay count. Unalaska set high counts for the entire international span of the Christmas Bird Count for several species: 1,535 Emperor Geese, 974 Harlequin Ducks, and 6 Crested Auklets.

Southeast Alaska volunteers set state record highs for several species. Juneau volunteers found 2,126 Canada Geese, while Ketchikan found 78 Eurasian Collared Doves, a species that wasn’t seen on Alaska Christmas counts before 2009. Other high counts include 948 Dark-eyed Juncos in Ketchikan, 16 Red-breasted Sapsuckers on Mitkof Island, and 6 Anna’s Hummingbirds in Sitka.

Within Southcentral Alaska, Kodiak reached a new area high count of 785 Emperor Geese, and Anchorage set a new area high count with 304 American Robins. During count week, Kodiak found the first Common Yellowthroat, a small songbird, for the Alaska Christmas Bird Count. It was the only warbler found on Alaska counts last year. The Eagle River count found all three species of ptarmigan—Willow, Rock, and White-tailed—the only count in North America where that has occurred (including twice before). Other unusual birds included a Ruddy Turnstone at Kodiak, only the second found on any Alaska count, and a Swamp Sparrow in Seward.

In Southwest Alaska, Unalaska set new high count records for that part of the state with 891 Black Scoters (a type of seaduck) and 5 Belted Kingfishers, while the King Salmon-Naknek set area high count records with 4 Northern Shrikes and 2 White-crowned Sparrows. Bethel had an unusual sighting of a White-throated Sparrow, a rare visitor to Alaska.

In the Interior, Fairbanks reported 21 species, the highest species tally for the area. Fairbanks set a new area high count with 513 Bohemian Waxwings, and Nome set an area high count with 2 Gyrfalcons.

 

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Now in its second century, Audubon is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them. Our national network of community-based nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engage millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in con