More than a century of your data powers Audubon’s science. The nation’s longest-running community science bird project fuels their work throughout the year. The Christmas Bird Count occurs December 14 to January 5 every season.
A group of 27 conservationists initiated the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) as a way of promoting conservation by counting, rather than hunting, birds on Christmas Day of 1900. Some counts have been running every year since then and the CBC now happens in over 20 countries in the western hemisphere! Now a long-standing program of the National Audubon Society, with over 120 years of community science involvement, it is an early-winter bird census, where thousands of volunteers across the U.S., Canada, and many countries in the Western Hemisphere go out over a 24-hour period on one calendar day to count birds.
Birds make big contributions across habitats, and they’re crucial for people and the planet to thrive. When avian species are lost, their particular functions and benefits disappear, too. And introduced species can’t easily replace the critical roles of native ones. That means holding onto the bird diversity we have is paramount.
You might already know about some of the ecosystem services birds provide, like pollinating your favorite fruits. Some other ways they benefit us:
- Their poop is important fertilizer.
- Birds are environmentally friendly exterminators.
- Avian construction crews create habitat.
- They’re the ultimate in animal sanitation workers.
The Audubon Society is working to halt, and ultimately reverse, the decline of birds across the Americas. Want to be a Community Scientist and help collect information on our feathered friends? Find out how!