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Audubon New Mexico
Conservation Issues
Audubon & You
Support Audubon
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Bird Counts & Monitoring
Christmas Bird Count
Great Backyard Bird Count |
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Christmas Bird Count
Audubon
Christmas Bird Count
NM Christmas Bird Count
Leaders
& Schedule
NM Christmas Bird Count Map
 The
110th Christmas Bird Count
Citizen Science in Action
December 14, 2009 — January 5, 2010
Everyone can participate! The Christmas
Bird Count takes place within “Count Circles,” which
focus on specific geographical areas. Each circle is led by
a Count Compiler. If you are a beginning birder, you will be
able to join a group that includes at least one experienced
birdwatcher. If your home is within the boundaries of a Count
Circle, you can stay home and report the birds that visit your
feeder or join a group of birdwatchers in the field. Please
contact your local New Mexico
Count Compiler to find out how you can join in the count
this year.
Thank you for your dedicated participation in Audubon’s
Christmas Bird Counts (CBC). As a CBC Leader and a citizen scientist,
your contribution to conservation is deeply appreciated and contributes
to the longest running wildlife census. (Thank You Letter from
John Flicker, Audubon President  )
The CBC began in 1900 and continues today due to dedicated volunteers
like you. The CBC is an essential part of Audubon’s mission
to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds,
other wildlife, and their habitats.
As you know, the data collected by observers over the past century
allow researchers, conservation biologists, and other interested
individuals to study the long term health and status of bird populations
across North America. When combined with other surveys, it provides
a picture of how the continent’s bird populations have changed
in time and space over the past. (How the Christmas Bird Count
Helps Protect Species and Their Habitat )
Audubon is using CBC data to show trends in bird migration patterns
pointing to impacts of climate change in the continental U.S.
Christmas Bird Count FAQs
| 1. |
How is the Christmas Bird Count
(CBC) conducted?
Count volunteers follow specified routes through a designated
15-mile (24-km) diameter circle, counting every bird they
see or hear all day. It’s not just a species tally—all
birds are counted all day, giving an indication of the total
number of birds in the circle that day. If observers live
within a CBC circle, they may arrange in advance to count
the birds at their feeders and submit those data to their
compiler. All individual CBC’s are conducted in the
period from December 14 to January 5 (inclusive dates) each
season, and each count is conducted in one calendar day. |
| 2. |
Will I be doing this by myself?
Do I have to be an experienced birder?
CBC participants are organized into groups—or field
parties—by the organizer or Compiler of each Count.
Each field party covers a specific area of the 15-mile diameter
circle on a specific route. And anyone is welcome to participate,
since Compilers arrange field parties so that inexperienced
observers are always out with seasoned CBC veterans. |
| 3. |
Do I have to join a field party,
or can I count the birds at my feeder?
As long as you live within a designated CBC circle, you are
welcome to count the birds at your feeder. All you’ll
need to do is contact your local Compiler so that you may
report your results on the Count Day. Please do so on the
CBC Getting
Involved page, or talk to a CBC
leader in your area to find out how you can get involved |
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Great Backyard Bird Count
The Great Backyard Bird Count is a joint project of Audubon and the Cornell
Lab of Ornithology and is hosted every year in mid-February, usually
around Valentine’s Day.
Great Backyard Bird Count
Information
2009 Count For Fun, Count For the Future
The 12th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count Breaks Record Again!
Bird watchers outdid themselves once again this year and surpassed last
year’s all-time record of 85,700+ by submitting 93,629 checklists!
Twenty-seven states set new records for checklists submitted, as did
eight Canadian provinces. A total of 619 species were observed, and 11,550,200
individual birds were counted. In species spotting news, the Northern
Cardinal has been bumped down to 15th place, with top billing going to
the Snow Goose, which had over 1.3 million individuals recorded!
Other exciting updates and summaries can be found online.
You can explore maps, see beautiful photos, prize-drawing winners, and
the list cities and towns that topped their state or province for the
number of checklists submitted-our “checklist champs.”
Mark your calendar now for the next Great Backyard Bird Count: February
15-18, 2010.
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Brochures 