Bushy Run Christmas Bird Count

DECEMBER TO JANUARY

The Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count, or CBC, is one of the nation’s oldest citizen science projects. It began on Christmas Day, 1900, when 27 observers counted birds in 25 places in the United States and Canada. The count was quickly recognized for its potential as an important source of bird population trends. Data collected over decades has helped Audubon researchers, conservation biologists, wildlife agencies, and other interested individuals, study the long-term health and status of birds across North America. When combined with other surveys, such as the Breeding Bird Survey, the CBC provides a picture of the continent’s bird population changes over the last century. WBNC’s count is held for one 24-hour period on a date between December 14 and January 5. CBC volunteers work in teams. Their skill levels range from novice to expert. Each team is assigned a sector of a designated 15-mile (24-km) diameter circle. Teams record species and numbers of individuals of each species. Do your part in adding to more than a century of community science by participating in the count this year.