Cedar Waxwing

The Christmas Bird Count has been a fixture in National Audubon's annual calendar for well over a century now, and Birmingham has participated in this now-global phenomenon since the 1940's. The way it works is this: we count all the birds - counting both species and individuals - within a 15-mile circle, centered at the water works facility on US 280. To conduct this count, we have divided up the circle into 8 individual territories, plus Red Mountain Park, each helmed by a party leader.

The party leaders are individually responsible for staffing their parties with volunteers, and with setting their starting times, meeting places, and deciding where and when to go to find birds in their territory. At the end of the day, we gather at the Alabama Audubon office on Highland Ave to compile our separate lists into a consolidated result for the circle. We then submit that list to National Audubon who add this data to their massive database, from which they monitor the health of our birds in winter, finding and reporting on trends over the decades. 

*** WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU JOIN US! *** 

TO PARTICIPATE: Click here to download the attached PDF of the count circle and the list of party leaders. Find the area you'd like to bird and contact that party leader to tell them you'd like to participate. Any problems or questions? Check with the Count Compiler, Paul Franklin @ phfranklin36@gmail.com.

 Each party leader should contact any restricted or sensitive venues or locations to secure permission to enter.