Every December since 1900, teams of enthusiastic birders have joined together across the country to count the number of individual birds within each species present on the same date in the same locale. This extremely important project, coordinated by the National Audubon Society, spans three weeks, from December 14 to January 5, but area counts of the number of individual birds of each species present within each 15-mile diameter CBC circle are tallied over 24 hours on just one of those calendar dates. Data collected from thousands of Christmas Bird Count (CBC) circles provides an annual snapshot of the status of wintering bird populations throughout the country. A map of active CBC locations can be found here.
If you’d like to join a team collecting data for a CBC, email the coordinator for that CBC. Following are CBCs in the Miami area:
Saturday, December 16: Miami-Dade County CBC
Coordinated by Brian Rapoza. For additional information, email Brian.
Sunday, December 17: Homestead CBC
Coordinated by Carlos Sanchez. For additional information, email Carlos.
Sunday, December 17: Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge CBC Coordinated by Suzy Roebling. For additional information, email Suzy.
Tuesday, December 19: Long Pine Key CBC
Coordinated by Raul Urgelles. For additional information, email Raul.
Tuesday, December 19: Biscayne National Park CBC Coordinated by Michael Hoffman. For additional information, email Michael.
Wednesday, December 20: Long Key/Lignumvitae CBC Coordinated by Nicholas Parr. For additional information, email Nicholas.
Saturday, December 23: Kendall CBC
Coordinated by Bill Boeringer. For additional information, email Bill.
Saturday, December 30: Coot Bay/Everglades CBC
Coordinated by Brian Rapoza. For additional information, email Brian.
Thursday, January 4: Key Largo-Plantation Key CBC
Coordinated by Emily Johnson. For additional information, email Emily.
If you live within a CBC circle, you can also submit data from your backyard or neighborhood. Open the CBC location map and zoom in to see if your home is located within a CBC circle. If yes, contact the coordinator to volunteer to count birds in your yard or neighborhood. The coordinator will explain how your count data should be submitted. They may provide you with a reporting form for this purpose. On the reporting form, you’ll list the number of individuals of each bird species you saw or heard on count day and were able to identify. You’ll also be asked to provide the amount of time you spent counting birds, as well as your name, address and contact info.
For CBCs located in urban areas, collecting backyard data from throughout the count circle will provide a much more accurate census for many species that are often found in backyards. These birds include Ruby-throated (and sometimes Rufous) Hummingbird, Eastern Screech-Owl and Painted Bunting, as well as introduced species like Red-whiskered Bulbul, Spot-breasted Oriole, Scaly-breasted Munia and several parrot species. For those of you who live within a CBC circle, we’re counting on you to count your backyard and neighborhood birds this CBC season, and look forward to hearing from you!