Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday, December 16th, 2023. Thanks to all the participants!

The Christmas Bird Count began in 1900, when conservationists sought to re-direct what had been an annual contest to see who could kill the most birds during the Christmas holiday, to an annual census of birds. Despite the name, the CBC has no affiliation with Christmas and everyone over the age of 18 is welcome to participate in the CBC bird survey.

The Christmas Bird Count is the longest running community science survey in North America. Eastside Audubon has coordinated the CBC since 1983! Volunteers this year contributed by being a Feederwatch at home or joining a Field Team. Every year volunteers survey the count circle (15 miles in diameter) centered in the Eastside, to identify and count anything with feathers. There are 15 sections within the our count circle, each being covered by one or multiple field teams of volunteer surveyors.

All results are tallied by a count compiler and submitted to the National Audubon Society. The valuable data gathered on wintering bird populations will support important research like the 3 Billion Birds report and other scientific publications. We report the key findings from the Eastside Audubon count in our newsletter, The Corvid Crier.

Please contact Andy McCormick with any questions or comments about the event, at amccormick@eastsideaudubon.org, or 425-518-0892.