119th Annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count

History of the Christmas Bird Count

Hunters and the birds they killed during a Christmas Side Hunt.

Before the turn of the 20th century, there was holiday tradition called the Christmas Side Hunt. Groups of hunters would compete to bring home as many birds and mammals as they could. Hundreds of non-game birds were killed in a single hunt and “winners” were published in leading sportsmens' journals.

Conservation efforts were just beginning in this era, and declines in bird populations concerned early naturalists and scientists. A new Christmas tradition was proposed by ornithologist Frank M. Chapman, who was involved in the early foundation of the Audubon Society.

On Christmas Day in 1900, the first of what was then called the “Christmas Bird Census” was conducted to count birds instead of hunting them. Chapman inspired 27 birders across North America to participate in this first Christmas Bird Count where they recorded 90 bird species.

Birders from an early Christmas Bird Count.

National Audubon Society Annual Christmas Bird Count

Each year since, birders from across the Americas have come together to participate in the Christmas Bird Count that has now become an international event. Tens of thousands of people coming together, all for the love of birds.

There are count circles in the United States, Canada,
 Latin America,  the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands. 

This year marks the 119th year for the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count, which is the longest-running community science project in the world. Over 2,000 count circles and around 75,000 people across North, Central, and South America collect and submit data each year.

All the data is accessible on the National Audubon Society website and it has been used and referenced in several reports and studies. The data collected is used by Audubon researchers, conservation biologists, wildlife agencies, and other interested individuals to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America. Data from the Christmas Bird Count has been used by government agencies and non-profit organizations including the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, North American Bird Conservation Initiative, and many more.

2018 Corkscrew Christmas Bird Count

Arial view of the Corkscrew Count Circle.

The Corkscrew Count Circle is separated into 11 sections.

The Corkscrew Christmas Bird Count is a 15 mile circle surrounding and including Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Several teams divide up the count area into 11 sections, which includes a diverse array of habitats and neighborhoods. There were about 60 participants in the Corkscrew CBC this year and birders of all experience levels were welcome.   

Evan, one of our other interns, volunteered with
Team 10 and is preparing their data sheets in the
Blair Center classroom. 

Teams meet in the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary 

parking lot.

Meeting locations and times for each team were determined by the team captain, but most teams met at the sanctuary and got an early start at about 7:00 am. While many count circles across the country have to deal with cold winter temperatures, we had beautiful weather in the upper 70s with only a few sprinkles of rain throughout the day. Teams traveled by foot, cars, trucks, boats, and even swamp buggies while identifying and recording birds by sight and sound.

I helped lead Team 2 on the big swamp buggy.

Team 4 ready to go on their swamp buggy.

Groups began returning to the sanctuary around 3:00 pm, but some didn’t return until after sunset. Our round-up dinner was held in the classroom of the Blair Audubon Center starting at 4:30 pm that evening, where food and drinks were available. Teams either dropped off their data forms or stayed for the dinner, where we began compiling all of the data from each team. After all the data was collected, the teams said their farewells and went home for some well deserved rest after a long day.

Here are the totals from all the teams in the Corkscrew count:

- 59 participants - 103.55 hours birding - 349.80 miles covered - 114 bird species observed - 13,821 birds counted - 1 great day of birding!

I felt very honored to not only participate, but also to help lead a section of the Corkscrew count. I was able to meet some very incredible people who have a deep passion for birding and nature. Some of the participants traveled from long distances just to be a part of our count and some also participate in multiple counts around the country.

Photo taken by John Maginess, a participant in my team,
during the Corkscrew count.

Seeing this dedication reminded me of the original Christmas Bird Count and the people so committed to the conservation of birds and other wildlife that started the environmental movement so many years ago. It was an amazing feeling knowing that I was a part of an effort that has been going on for over a hundred years and that thousands people around the world were birding together for a common goal.

-Amy, Education Intern

Follow this link to learn more about the National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count