Christmas Bird Count

In 1900, American ornithologist Frank Chapman asked birders across North America to head out on Christmas Day to perform the first "Christmas Bird Census." His suggestion has evolved into one of the largest organized birding events in the world which has become a holiday tradition for over 50 000 birders.

The Christmas Bird Count, as it is now called, is conducted in over 2000 localities across Canada, the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. These bird observations, collected during one-day field counts within defined circular areas, have been amassed into a huge database that reflects the distribution and numbers of winter birds over time.

For many years, the Christmas Bird Count was organized at the continental scale by the New York-based National Audubon Society. In 2000, Audubon and Bird Studies Canada (BSC) finalized an agreement that would see BSC partner with Audubon to coordinate counts in Canada.

The Annual Christmas Bird Count in London has been organized by the McIlwraith Field Naturalists since 1909 who submit all data collected to Bird Studies Canada. Beginning in December 2007, Friends of the Coves contributed to the count in The Coves area by assembling a team and coordinating with volunteers from McIlwraith.

Birders of all experience levels are welcome to join the Coves Christmas Bird Count field team

Feeder watchers keeping count from home are also highly encouraged to get involved

Please contact the office if you are interested in participating

Resources:  PDF icon The Cardinal.pdf