The Christmas Bird Count is an annual bird census organized by the National Audubon Society to assess the status and distribution of bird populations across the Western Hemisphere. It is the longest running wildlife census, having been conducted since 1900. The count takes place during a three-week period around Christmas, when bird populations are relatively stable. Volunteers follow specified routes through a designated 15-mile diameter circle, counting every bird they see or hear. The 122nd Christmas Bird Count took place during the 2021-2022 winter season.
History of the Christmas Bird Count
The Christmas Bird Count began in 1900 as an alternative to the traditional Christmas “side hunt,” where teams competed to see who could shoot the most birds and small mammals on Christmas Day. Conservationist Frank Chapman proposed that people instead identify, count, and record the birds they saw, which catalyzed the creation of the Christmas Bird Count. Some of the earliest counts took place at sites including Toronto, Ontario; Pacific Grove, California; and Corpus Christi, Texas. By the late 1920s, more than 300 counts were taking place annually. The Audubon Society took over management of the Christmas Bird Count in the 1960s. Since then, the count has grown into a massive community science project that engages tens of thousands of volunteers each year throughout the Americas and beyond.
Objectives of the Christmas Bird Count
The key objectives of the Christmas Bird Count include:
- Monitor bird population trends
- Understand how birds are distributed across the landscape
- Assess long-term changes in bird abundance and diversity
- Provide early warning signs of environmental threats to bird populations
The extensive dataset accumulated by the Christmas Bird Count allows researchers to analyze how bird populations have responded to habitat change, pollution, introduced species, climate change, and other environmental stressors. The data inform conservation priorities and help shape management policies aimed at protecting birds.
The 122nd Christmas Bird Count
The 122nd Christmas Bird Count was conducted over a three-week period from December 14, 2021 to January 5, 2022. Over 75,000 observers participated, many of them contributing to multiple local counts. The participants documented over 59 million birds across 2,621 count circles in the Western Hemisphere. The below sections summarize some of the key findings that emerged from the 122nd Christmas Bird Count.
Participation
Participation in the 122nd count broke the previous record, set just last year during the 121st count. The participation trends over the past decade are summarized in the table below:
Year | Number of Circles | Number of Observers | Number of Party Hours |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | 2,369 | 71,531 | 288,149 |
2014 | 2,424 | 72,072 | 294,003 |
2015 | 2,459 | 73,153 | 302,124 |
2016 | 2,515 | 74,131 | 307,610 |
2017 | 2,585 | 79,339 | 328,045 |
2018 | 2,615 | 81,669 | 338,672 |
2019 | 2,616 | 82,327 | 347,232 |
2020 | 2,585 | 75,415 | 295,285 |
2021 | 2,642 | 77,021 | 306,209 |
2022 | 2,621 | 79,374 | 319,211 |
The number of count circles reached a new high in 2021 after a slight dip in 2020, likely due to limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Participation rebounded in the 2021-2022 count, with over 2,600 circles and nearly 80,000 observers taking part. The steadily increasing number of observers over the past decade demonstrates the continued enthusiasm for this long-running community science project.
Top Species
Volunteers identified a total of 59,179,807 individual birds representing 2,141 species during the 122nd count. The most numerous species overall was the red-winged blackbird, with over 5.7 million individuals counted. The top ten most numerous species are listed in the table below:
Rank | Species | Total Individuals |
---|---|---|
1 | Red-winged blackbird | 5,783,636 |
2 | European starling | 5,129,209 |
3 | Snow goose | 3,023,006 |
4 | Canada goose | 2,785,842 |
5 | Mallard | 2,725,437 |
6 | Ring-billed gull | 2,559,378 |
7 | American coot | 1,745,921 |
8 | American robin | 1,559,110 |
9 | House sparrow | 1,504,922 |
10 | European greenfinch | 1,433,347 |
Many of these species thrive around human development, including agricultural areas and urban environments. Their high numbers likely reflect their adaptability to human-altered habitats. The most numerous species were distributed across all major regions participating in the Christmas Bird Count.
Rare Species
While many birds counted were relatively common, regional experts also documented over 100 rare or unusual species. Highlights included sightings of species with small, threatened populations like the whooping crane and California condor. Each year, the count also turns up exotic vagrants – birds well outside their normal range. Examples from the 2021-2022 count included Alaska’s first record of a roadrunner and sightings of colorful Asian species like the varied bunting and tufted flycatcher spotted along the west coast. These unusual finds demonstrate the power of the Christmas Bird Count to capture a snapshot view of bird distributions across the hemisphere.
Trends and Patterns
Analyzing changes in bird numbers over the long term provides vital clues into how bird populations are faring. For many species, Audubon scientists have data spanning over a hundred years of Christmas Bird Counts, allowing evaluation of population trajectories.
Declining Species
The Christmas Bird Count data continues to sound the alarm about declining bird species. The rufous hummingbird, a long-distance migrant that breeds in the Pacific Northwest and winters along the Gulf Coast, has shown worrying population declines over the past 50 years based on count data. Coastal shorebirds like sanderlings and dunlins have also dropped significantly on the counts, suggesting habitat loss may be hampering their populations. Grassland-dwelling birds remain some of the most rapidly declining species in North America – Christmas Bird Count data has documented the precipitous loss of eastern meadowlarks and other grassland species over the decades, highlighting the urgent need for grassland conservation efforts.
Increasing Species
On a more positive note, some species have exhibited population rebounds that are readily apparent in Christmas Bird Count data. Raptors like bald eagles, osprey, and peregrine falcons have climbed after the banning of the insecticide DDT allowed their numbers to recover. The Sandhill crane count has risen exponentially in recent decades as protected wetlands and grain crops have benefited this imposing species. In the west, species like the Anna’s hummingbird and California towhee have gradually increased in abundance based on count findings, likely expanding their ranges in association with suburban growth and plantings of exotic vegetation. Tracking which species are succeeding versus struggling helps guide ongoing conservation efforts.
Shifting Distributions
Christmas Bird Count data also charts the ebb and flow of bird distributions over time. Warming winter temperatures have allowed many birds typically confined to the southern United States in winter to expand northward – species like the red-bellied woodpecker, Carolina wren, and northern cardinal are being reported more frequently on northern Christmas Bird Counts compared to several decades ago. Some Arctic seabirds like thick-billed murres and razorbills have decreased on counts in the southern edge of their range as distributions contract poleward. These shifting patterns provide insight into how birds are responding to climate change by adjusting their migrations and ranges. Documenting bird movements across the hemisphere helps explain ongoing changes in avian diversity and abundance.
Conclusion
For over 120 years, the Christmas Bird Count has mobilized a vast volunteer network to track bird populations across the Western Hemisphere. The 122nd count demonstrated that enthusiasm for this long-running program remains strong, with record participation in 2021. Red-winged blackbirds topped the list of most numerous species, while over 100 rare birds added excitement. Analyses of count data continues to reveal long-term trends for bird species, highlighting both concerning declines and hopeful rebounds that inform ongoing conservation efforts. As the collection of Christmas Bird Count data persists, researchers gain an ever-clearer picture into the status and distribution of both common and threatened birds. With flexibility, adaptability, and the passion of volunteer record-keepers, this unique census seems poised to track avian life for the next 100 years and beyond. Its combination of recreation, competition, and scientific rigor will continue to produce a detailed annual snapshot that deepens our understanding of birds across the Americas.