Christmas Bird Count
A Holiday Tradition
Before the Christmas Bird Count began, many people participated in a holiday “Side Hunt”. Hunters would choose sides and go afield with their guns—whoever brought in the biggest pile of feathered (and furred) quarry won.
In 1900, ornithologist Frank M. Chapman proposed a new tradition: count birds instead of hunting them. That idea became the Christmas Bird Count — one of the longest-running community science projects in North America.
Westcave’s Role
Westcave has been participating in the Christmas Bird Count since 2000. The data at the Westcave CBC collected by observers allow Audubon researchers, conservation biologists, wildlife agencies and other interested individuals to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America. When combined with other surveys such as the Breeding Bird Survey, it provides a picture of how the continent's bird populations have changed in time and space over the past hundred years.
How the Count Works
Sign Up
Participants can sign up to volunteer before the December 14 to January 5 season.
Count Birds
Observers record bird species and numbers during a single count day.
Share Data
Those observations become part of a long-term dataset used by scientists and conservationists.