The 125th Christmas Bird Count
Saturday, December 14 2024
Our count week period centers around that date, extending 3 days before and 3 days after (December 11-17)
The Christmas Bird Count
Quasquicentennial! That would be an outstanding Scrabble word ... if only the board were 2 letters wider. Instead, birders across the globe will have to get used to just using or reading it; this season the Christmas Bird Count will celebrate its 125th iteration. We have certainly come a long way from 1900 when 27 birders headed out into the field to tally birds rather than shoot them.
Around 80,000 participants will likely join in the fun this year as numbers globally continue to rebound from the pandemic lull. More impressively, some 40 million birds are likely to be recorded. Bird populations around the world continue to face pressures on a number of fronts. As the longest-running citizen science program in history, the Christmas Bird Count is uniquely suited to provide researchers and policy-makers alike valuable information to reflect trends in bird numbers, highlight conservation successes, and underscore areas of needed improvement.
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Join the Mountaineer Audubon CBC
​​As is the case for all recent CBCs, each local count takes place within a 15-mile diameter circle over a 24-hour span within the weeks from December 14 through January 5. For the Mountaineer Audubon CBC, our circle centers at the Morgantown airport and will take place on the first Saturday of count season. This year, that date is December 14, 2024. So, mark your calendars!
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With the count period starting on a Saturday this year, we are hopeful that date allows even more participants who would otherwise have holiday plans to participate. In theory, this date will also allow us to avoid the winter commencement ceremonies of WVU, which seemed particularly large last year and provided a few traffic snags for field birders. Even with a slightly more favorable date, it will be difficult to best last year’s Herculean participation efforts. We nearly broke 100 active birders out in the field, and that was with a few regular and scheduled participants unable to join in at the last minute.
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​The weather last December was unusually mild and undoubtedly helped buoy the participant numbers, but section leader efforts have been tremendous as well. With Young Birder-focused events at both the Arboretum and Cheat Lake, it is my hope our birder list will continue to grow. Likewise, I maintain steadfast hope that the Morgantown count will be the first in the state to break 100 species on count day. It has to happen sometime in West Virginia, and our recent totals have been tantalizingly close with numbers in the high 80s to mid 90s. Luck and weather have much to do with breaking that barrier, but it definitely cannot 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 125th 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