Every year since 1900, thousands of birding enthusiasts have braved freezing temperatures, snow, and rain to participate in one of the country’s largest and longest-running citizen science projects – the Christmas Bird Count. For over one hundred years, the National Audubon Society has organized this continent-wide census of bird species.
The bird count began as a new take on the traditional Christmas hunt that was popular around the turn of the century. Instead of bagging birds, conservationist and early Audubon Society officer Frank Chapman suggested counting them. The first Christmas Bird Count involved a small number of census groups across the U.S. and Canada, mostly in the northeast, and a total of 90 bird species were tallied. The count has come a long way in one hundred years. In 2008, over 59,000 people participated. This past winter, volunteers counted over 18 million birds.
The count occurs every year in the U.S., Canada, and many countries in Central and South America from December 14th through January 5th. Volunteers count every bird they see or hear within a 15-mile circle in a 24-hour period. Most often, volunteers are organized into groups that census a section of the designated area. Participants can also simply count the birds at their feeder. The data collected is compiled by group leaders and sent to the Audubon Society.
Long-term studies are vital in the field of conservation. The fact that such a detailed, long-term study of bird populations has been undertaken almost entirely by volunteers highlights the potential of citizen science as an effective conservation tool – and the incredible dedication of birders! The data collected by volunteers helps scientists track changes in the populations of bird species over time.
Because bird species are important environmental indicators, changes in their populations can signal an environmental threat. Several reports produced using Christmas Bird Count data have been instrumental in identifying threats to birds in the Western hemisphere and promoting policies to conserve them. In the 1980s, the count data documented the decline of the American Black Duck, after which conservation measures were put into place to help the population recover. The count has also documented the successful recovery of the bald eagle population.
In the past few years, the count has produced several important results about bird populations in the Western hemisphere. Scientists recently compiled bird count data from the past 40 years and determined that 60% of commonly-occurring bird species in the U.S. are shifting their ranges north by an average of 35 miles. Scientists believe that this widespread shift is strong evidence of the impact of climate change on ecosystems. Using the same dataset, scientists have compiled a list of the top twenty common bird species that are currently in decline. Many of these species, like the Common Grackle, the ubiquitous parking lot dweller, are common to the point of being overlooked. But birds play a key role in the ecosystem, and a population decline can indicate present environmental problems and foretell greater impacts in the future. Thus, the Christmas Bird Count helps not only the birds, but mankind as well.
For more information about the Christmas Bird Count, or to become involved, visit www.audubon.org.
