CBC 2025
The 126th Christmas Bird Count
Saturday, December 20 2025
Our count week period centers around that date, extending 3 days before and 3 days after (December 17-23)
The Christmas Bird Count
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.” As I sit here reminiscing about a time when Morgantown was not under a heat dome and crisp air from the north brought promise of flocks of migrants passing through Mountaineer country, it’s only natural my thoughts would soon turn toward the Christmas Bird Count. For 40 years, birders, friends, and family have charged out into the midwinter weather, not to tackle the walls of Harfleur, but to confront the impossible task of counting all the birds in the greater Morgantown area. And we will gather to do so again this year!
Join the Mountaineer Audubon CBC
As is the case for all recent CBCs, our battlefield is a 15-mile diameter circle centered at the Morgantown airport. Our effort will span 24 hours from midnight to midnight. Traditionally, the Mountaineer Audubon CBC falls on the first Saturday of the National Audubon Christmas Bird Count time frame. This year, that date falls on December 20, 2025. So, mark your calendars! With the close proximity to the holidays, certainly family and friends will be in town to share the season … invite them to join in! We can use all the troops we can muster.
We have been blessed in Morgantown recently to lead the state in both species diversity and the numbers of participants. Both are trends I would love to see continue this year. Mountaineer Audubon CBC’ers will join ~80,000 like-minded enthusiasts across the globe to support the longest-running citizen-science program in history. Some 40 million individual birds will be recorded. And scientists will use these data to analyze a global bird population facing unprecedented pressures on a number of fronts.
Last year we came tantalizingly close to breaking 100 species on count day, a total that would have boggled the minds of the lone two participants on the first Morgantown CBC. Weather plays a large part in our species tally, and every year offers its own surprises. We hope the weather is mild enough that both participants and half-hardy species are out in good numbers. But we also need some cool weather to our north to prompt a nice waterfowl incursion to our (hopefully ice-free) lakes and rivers. With just the right mix, I am confident Morgantown CBC’ers can have an amazing day!
Section leader efforts have really been tremendous these past few years, allowing us to provide excellent area-wide coverage. We have also been fortunate to include Young Birder focused events at both the Arboretum and Cheat Lake. Building a birding community that embraces and fosters the next generation of birders is truly one of the unique aspects of the Mountaineer Audubon CBC in West Virginia. And I encourage anyone with nature-minded children to consider coming out and partaking in this exceptional experience. Whether the fortunes smile on us with a record-breaking day or not, nothing can happen without you … the participants.
More from our CBC Coordinator
​​​​​Winter birding in Morgantown offers some of my favorite opportunities for local birdwatching of the entire year. The patient waiting game in the Coopers Rock conifer stands listening for a Northern Saw-whet Owl to respond to my calls; the beauty of hundreds of Tundra Swans stopping over at Cheat Lake on a chilly morning as they make their way to coastal wintering grounds; and the excitement of not knowing which lingering resident will attempt to brave out the cold or which unexpected vagrant will stop by these woods on a snowy evening. I hope to share all of these and more with you during this year’s count!
Whether you are a grizzled birding veteran or a brand-new enthusiast to this quirky hobby, whether you want to be out all day and night or sit cozily by your fireplace sipping cocoa as you count feeder birds, please contact me to join us in the 126th edition of the Christmas Bird Count. To register (it’s free!!!) and for any questions, comments, concerns, or info, please reach out to
Derek Courtney at:
derek.dana.courtney@gmail.com or
304.841.1015
Hope to see you all in December!
Derek Courtney
CBC Coordinator, Mountaineer Audubon
