Join the 2024 Christmas Bird Count to help collect essential data on bird populations as we count every bird on the same day in ten mile circles. Small groups of birders are coordinated to visit parks and beaches within each ten mile circle, so you can join a group of birders to do the count! It's a fun and easy way to contribute to citizen science.

 

Need to brush up on your bird ID skills? Join us on our free field trips and shorebird stewarding walks between now and then.

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Below are our local circles for you to join, each with its own date. Please contact the count compiler to arrange your participation.

 

The Estero Bay Circle Christmas Bird Count is set for Saturday, December 28, 2024. Contact Robin Serne at LeeShorebirdSteward@gmail.com

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The Orange River Circle Christmas Bird Count is set for Sunday, December 29, 2024.

Contact Meg Rousher at megrousher@icloud.com

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The Fort Myers/Cape Coral Circle Christmas Bird Count is set for Monday, December 16, 2024.  Contact Charlie Ewell at anhinga42@comcast.net

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And the Sanibel Circle Christmas Bird Count is set for Saturday, December 14, 2024.

Contact Audrey Albrecht at SanCapCBC@gmail.com

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The Audubon Christmas Bird Count began in 1900 when Dr. Frank Chapman, founder of Bird-Lore – which evolved into Audubon magazine – suggested an alternative to the holiday “side hunt,” in which teams had competed to see who could shoot the most birds. Instead, Dr. Chapman set up a competition to count and compile records of birds. It has now become the longest-running citizen science survey, where your active participation adds to this rich and important data collection. 

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Each year, the Audubon Christmas Bird Count mobilizes over 72,000 volunteer bird counters in more than 2,500 locations across the Western Hemisphere. The Audubon Christmas Bird Count utilizes the power of volunteers to track the health of bird populations at a scale that scientists could never accomplish alone. Data compiled in Fort Myers will record every individual bird and bird species seen in a specified area, contributing to a vast citizen science network that continues a tradition stretching back more than 100 years. 

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Birders of all ages are welcome to contribute to this fun, nationwide citizen science project, which provides ornithologists with a crucial snapshot of our native bird populations during the winter months. Each individual count is performed in a count circle with a diameter of 10-15 miles. At least ten volunteers, including a compiler to coordinate the process, count in each circle. The volunteers break up into small parties and follow assigned routes, which change little from year to year, counting every bird they see. In most count circles, some people also watch feeders instead of following routes.

 

There is no fee to participate and the quarterly report, American Birds, is available online.

Counts are open to birders of all skill levels and Audubon’s free Bird Guide app makes it even easier to learn more. 

For more information and to find where else you can join a Christmas Bird Count, visit www.christmasbirdcount.org.

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