Participate in the 124th Christmas Bird Count
- by Guest Contributor
- December 15, 2023
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Information from the National Audubon Society
Love birdwatching? Consider signing up to participate in a Christmas Bird Count near you!
Data collected from the Christmas Bird Count helps inform ornithologists and conservation biologists about how the birds of the Americas are faring over time.
The Christmas Bird Count will be conducted from Thursday, December 14, 2023, through Friday, January 5, 2024.
Although the counts are held during that time period, counts are held on only one specific day during that time for each area.
Counts take place in established areas that are a 15-mile-wide circle, and they are organized by a count compiler.
All participants must make arrangements to participate in advance with the circle compiler within an established circle, but anyone can participate.
Please pay attention to the dates of each area’s count, as they are all different.
Click here for a map view of the circles expected to be included in the 124th Christmas Bird Count, including contact information and count dates for each area. Click here for more general information about joining the Christmas Bird Count.
Image: Pair of Cardinals, Michael O’Conner, 2022 APA photo award.
Established areas in the PA Wilds region include the following areas and dates (listed by earliest count date first):
- DuBois
- Compiler: Marianne Atkinson
- Email: 55marianne55@gmail.com
- Count Date: 12/16/2023
- Lock Haven / Jersey Shore
- Compiler: Wayne Laubscher
- Email: wnlaubscher@comcast.net
- Count Date: 12/16/2023
- Potter County
- Compiler: David Hauber
- Email: davidwhauber@gmail.com
- Count Date: 12/16/2023
- Warren
- Compiler: Michael Toole
- Email: m_t_toole@verizon.net
- Count Date: 12/16/2023
- Williamsport
- Compiler: David Brown
- Email: davidebrownpa@gmail.com
- Count Date: 12/16/2023
- Emporium
- Compiler: Andrew Sidelinger
- Email: andysidelinger63@gmail.com
- Count Date: 12/17/2023
- Bald Eagle State Park
- Compiler: Robert Snyder
- Email: rhs2@psu.edu
- Count Date: 12/30/2023
- Northern Lycoming
- Compiler: David Brown
- Email: davidebrownpa@gmail.com
- Count Date: 12/30/2023
- Philipsburg
- Compiler: Greg Kojadinovich
- Email: gsak40@gmail.com
- Count Date: 12/30/2023
- Benezette
- Compiler: Mark Johnson
- Email: kathyandmarkj@yahoo.com
- Count Date: 12/31/2023
- Wellsboro / Mansfield
- Compiler: Gary Tyson
- Email: gnats3@ptd.net
- Count Date: 1/1/2024
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Participation in the CBC free?
Yes, participation is free. However, you will need to provide your own transportation, binoculars and weather appropriate clothing.
How does participation work?
There is a specific methodology to the CBC, and all participants must make arrangements to participate in advance with the circle compiler but the CBC is open to all! Each count takes place in an established 15-mile diameter circle, and is organized by a count compiler. 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.
What if I’ve never been bird watching before? Can I still help?
Birders of all skill sets are involved in the CBC. If you are a beginning birder, your compiler will pair you with an expert initially.
Can I just do my own CBC and send in my data?
No. Since each CBC is a real census, effort data are collected as well as bird numbers, and since the 15-mile diameter circle contains a lot of area to be covered, single-observer counts (except in unusual circumstances) are not allowed. To participate in the CBC, you will need to join an existing CBC circle by contacting the compiler in advance of the count day.
Join the National Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count!
To learn more or to find a count near you, visit the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count webpage.
About the National Audubon Society:
The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world. The society has nearly 500 local chapters, each of which is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization voluntarily affiliated with the National Audubon Society, including the Lycoming Audubon Society in the Pennsylvania Wilds. For more information about the National Audubon Society, visit www.audubon.org.
