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When did it all begin?

In 1900, ornithologist Frank Chapman was disturbed at the slaughter of birds in the annual holiday event called the "side hunt". The team that shot the most birds and animals was the winner. As a protest, Chapman organized 27 friends in 25 locations on Christmas Day, 1900. Instead of shooting birds, they counted them.

Count Rules are simple:

Each bird count is a circle 15 miles (24 km) in diameter, about 177 square miles (458 sq. km). Bird counters try to cover as much of the circle as possible within a 24-hour calendar day, counting each individual bird and species they find.

2022 marks the 123rd anniversary of Christmas Bird Counts. Over 60,000 volunteers will participate in over 2,600 counts and tally over 42,000,000 birds during the December 14 - January 5 count period. Count sites can be found in all Canadian provinces and territories, all 50 US states, Mexico, Central and South America.

Why Count?

Birds are indicators of the overall health of our environment. Christmas Bird Count data over time in any given area can provide valuable insight into the long-term health of bird populations and the environment. Click here for the 2021 Christmas Bird Count summary and data analysis.

The Christmas Bird Count is the longest running ornithological database and is used to monitor the status of resident and migratory bird populations across North America. The +470 Canadian counts are co-ordinated by Bird Studies Canada. Count results are published annually by the National Audubon Society and are now available at the: Christmas Bird Count Home Page.

Compiler's contact information and detailed maps of all Canadian count circles are available on the Bird Studies Canada web site.

2022 COUNT DATES

The 123rd annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) will be underway soon. Below are the dates/contacts of local counts:

Dec 17 - Cedar Creek (CC ON), Paul Pratt, pratt.paul@icloud.com
Dec 18 - Blenheim (BL ON), Keith Burk, keithburk2@xplornet.com
Dec 18 - Erie Islands (LE OH), Sumiko Onishi, info@pibo.ca
Dec 19 - Point Pelee (PP ON), Sarah Rupert, sarah.rupert@pc.gc.ca
Dec 27 - Holiday Beach (HB ON), Jeremy Hatt & Kory Renaud, hattjeremy@hotmail.com kory.renaud@gmail.com
Dec 27 - Wallaceburg (WL ON), Steve Charbonneau, steve.charbonneau60@gmail.com
Jan 01 - Detroit River (DR MI), Paul Pratt for Ontario portion
Jan 01 - St Clair NWA (SL ON), Alan Woodliffe, awoodliffe@hotmail.com
Jan 03 - Bothwell, Jim Burk, jimburk@icloud.com
Jan 05 - North Shore/Lakeshore (NS ON), Glenn Gervais, eaglecoach@cogeco.ca