The Christmas Bird Count used to be known as Side Hunts, when hunters would go out during the holiday and kill as many birds as they could find. Ornithologist Frank M. Chapman founder of Bird-Lore (which became Audubon Magazine) suggested counting birds instead of killing them. And so it began, the first count occurred in 1900. The count is administered by Audubon and conducted by volunteers. The bird population data is collected and is used for scientific studies and reports. This is the longest citizen-science data collection in the world.

The counts takes place between Dec 14 and Jan 05. A count is conducted in a Count Circle, usually in a diameter of 15-miles. The volunteers cover routes which change little from year to year. They keep track of each bird species and number they see. The count can run before sunrise and after sunset, to include nocturnal species.

The results are then tallied at the end of the day and reported to sector coordinators.

For more information about the Christmas Bird Count visit Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count site: https://www.audubon.org/conservation/science/christmas-bird-count/history-christmas-bird-count

2025 Christmas Bird Count

I have participated in the Christmas Bird Count for seven years in Maryland counties. This year I participated in the count in Anne Arundel County, MD on 4 Jan 2026.