THE CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNt (CBC)


 
​WHAT:     Early-winter bird census
WHEN:    Annually, Dec. 14-Jan. 5*
WHERE:  Across North America
WHY:       Data on bird populations fuels smart bird conservation

Photo: Camilla Cerea/Nat'l Audubon

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​National Audubon's Christmas Bird Count (or CBC, as its known to seasoned pros) is the nation's longest-running citizen science bird project. Over a century's worth of data has been collected since the project began, and now its as much of a tradition for many friends and families as it is a massive scientific project. Data from the Christmas Bird Count has been used in countless important research discoveries, including National Audubon's landmark Birds and Climate Change study.  For more information about CBCs click here.
A map view of the circles expected to be included in the completed 118th CBC can be found here.

Links to this year's CBCs and prior year data:
2019 N. Nevada and Nearby Area Christmas Bird Counts
2018 N. Nevada and Nearby Area Christmas Bird Counts
2017 N. Nevada and Nearby Area Christmas Bird Counts
2016 N. Nevada and Nearby Area Christmas Bird Counts
2015 N. Nevada Christmas Bird Counts


Carl Lundblad's advice on CBCs and entering eBird data:
Because CBC season is upon us, this is a good time to review best practices for entering your CBC data into eBird.
​ Complete details are available at this link:   ENTERING CBC DATA ON EBIRD
One important point, is that distance covered is reported differently for CBC than eBird counts. For the CBC, you are asked to submit the total distance traveled, even if this includes back-tracking over the same ground. eBird checklists should only include the "one way" distance, so that if the same ground is covered more that once during the count, the distance should only be reported once on the same checklist. This becomes less of an issue if you split your CBC count into many separate location-specific eBird checklists (some of which might represent multiple stops at particularly-productive locations), which generates much higher-quality data for eBird.
Happy Counting, Happy Holidays, and Good Luck.
Carl Lundblad Moscow, ID