The Christmas Bird Count
An Annual Count of Birds at Christmas Provides Valuable Information About Bird Populations
The Christmas Bird Count takes place in late December or early January in locations in North, Central, and South America. Data aids research and conservation efforts.
There was a time when virtually nobody objected to people shooting birds just because they could, and at Christmas, sportsmen of the 19th century competed to see how many birds they could shoot - a bit of winter entertainment known as a side hunt. It seems they didn't worry too much about whether certain species were becoming rare; in fact, it's likely that the carcass of a dead rare or unusual bird brought more prestige than that of a common one.
Well, it's hardly fair to judge people of the past by the standards of today, but thankfully, the sport of killing as many birds as possible for Christmas entertainment has pretty much disappeared. It's been replaced by the Christmas Bird Count - the sport of counting as many birds as possible for Christmas entertainment. The Christmas Bird Count was the bright idea of Frank Chapman, an American ornithologist and one of the first members of the Audubon Society. He suggested that it might be a better idea to count birds instead of shooting them.
The first Christmas Bird Count (then called the Christmas Bird Census) took place on Christmas day in 1900, and involved 27 avid birders counting in 25 different locations in the United States and Canada. From those humble beginnings, the event has grown to include more than 50,000 people annually. Though most are still counting in the United States and Canada, people in Central and South American countries are also joining in. They don't all count on December 25th but, in each location, choose a day between roughly the middle of December and the end of the first week in January.
In each designated "count circle," volunteers follow predetermined routes, counting and identifying, if possible, every bird they see. They only count as they move out from their starting point: in order to avoid counting birds twice, they don't count on the return trip unless they spot species that they haven't seen before. At the end of the day, they submit their results to Bird Studies Canada or the Audubon Society respectively. The Audubon society produces a detailed annual report, containing invaluable information on bird populations and distribution.
Anyone can take part in the sport of Christmas bird counting - birders in the Americas look forward to the camaraderie and competition of the Christmas Bird Count every year and, thankfully, no birds are hurt. Rather, the information gathered is used to guide research and conservation of bird species. After 106 years, we've all but forgotten about the infamous Christmas side hunt.
For more information about the Christmas Bird Count in the United States, visit Audubon, or in Canada, Bird Studies Canada.
Read about other Christmas bird traditions:
