CHRISTMAS BIRDS FOR MORE THAN 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
by Whit Gibbons
December 11, 2011
The National Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count does not refer to four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree. It refers instead to an annual event: going outside and actually counting birds. On December 14, the tradition continues for the 112th year. So get your binoculars, put on some warm clothes, and join one of the coordinated surveys. See how many birds of each species you can identify and count. Scheduled surveys continue through January 5.
The CBC is an annual bird census conducted by volunteers, so-called citizen scientists. The objective is to count, by seeing or hearing, as many individual birds of as many species as possible within a prescribed 15-mile-diameter area, more than 175 square miles. The bird counters conduct their survey over a 24-hour time period and record the results. People with backyard feeders can participate by counting the birds that visit during a day.
The idea of counting and assessing regional bird life began in 1900 with an ornithologist named Frank Chapman. He was apparently dismayed with an annual event during the holiday season in which men had contests to see how many birds they could shoot. In a triumph for conservation, Chapman countered by organizing and publicizing a Christmas Day contest in which the objective was not to shoot birds but to count them. Today most of the one-day counts are arranged on days about a week before or after Christmas.
Only 27 people were involved in the first CBC. A new record of 62,624 observers (of which 9,774 watched and counted at their bird feeders) was set last year, with bird counts in all 50 states and all Canadian provinces. The intent is to conduct the surveys wherever North American birds spend the winter. Hence, bird counts were also organized on islands in the Pacific and in tropical America, including Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador. For the first time a CBC was conducted in Haiti. The total number of organized bird counts last year was a record-breaking 2,215. More than 57 million birds of 646 species were counted in the United States.How does a Christmas Bird Count help conservation efforts? As was true of the first count more than a hundred years ago, an activity of this nature brings attention to a group of organisms, in this case, birds. When environmental awareness is brought to the forefront, people begin to appreciate their native wildlife and natural resources. Ornithologists and bird lovers do a major service for the environmental welfare of bird species.
Avian enthusiasts are a superb example of how a concerted effort by conservation-minded individuals and groups can bring the plight of particular species to the attention of the general public. A continual record of presence and abundance of any group of species can alert us to unusual declines in numbers, which may reflect environmental problems that can be addressed. Focusing on habitat conditions can also be important. For example, many groups throughout the country are evaluating the environmental quality and conditions of rivers and streams within a state or region. The more such efforts are undertaken and publicized, and the more people who get involved, the more likely we are to learn of environmental conditions that should be remedied. Nothing helps an environmental cause more than making sure the general public is aware of the situation. Most people oppose activities that threaten healthy ecosystems.
The environmental spotlight approach has been used with great success by people interested in birds. Today almost all birds in North America are protected at state or federal levels. The reason for this is not that birds are more important than other groups of animals or plants. The reason is that the public has become involved in assessing their status and consequently in caring about their welfare.
To find out when the Christmas Bird Count is held in your area, go to birds.audubon.org/christmas-bird-count. If you are enthusiastic about birds, the Audubon Society will welcome your participation.
If you have an environmental question or comment, email
