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The longest running Citizen Science survey in the world, ̽����ѡ’s annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) will take place from December 14, 2011 to January 5, 2012. Tens of thousands of volunteers throughout North America will brave winter weather to add a new layer to over a century of data.

“̽����ѡ was a social network before the world ever heard the term,” notes David Yarnold, ̽����ѡ President & CEO. “Each December the buzz from our social network goes up a few decibels, as people with the knowledge and the passion for birds provide what no organization alone can.”

“It’s a globally recognized example of crowd-science,” says Gary Langham, ̽����ѡ’s Chief Scientist, who took his young daughter and wife on last year’s CBC. “̽����ѡ’s Christmas Bird Count is also a tradition that does good things for families, communities, and the conservation movement.”

Scientists rely on the remarkable trend data of ̽����ѡ’s CBC to better understand how birds are faring in North America and beyond our borders. “Data from ̽����ѡ’s Christmas Bird Count are at the heart of hundreds peer-reviewed scientific studies,” adds Dr. Langham; “CBC data have informed the U. S. State of the Birds Report, issued by the Department of the Interior, and modeled after ̽����ѡ’s annual reports begun in 2004. For example, in 2009, CBC analyses revealed the dramatic impact Climate Change is already having on birds across the continent.

“Everyone who takes part in the Christmas Bird Count plays a critical role in helping us focus attention and conservation where it is most needed.” said ̽����ѡ’s Christmas Bird Count Director, Geoff LeBaron. “In addition to ̽����ѡ’s reports on the impacts of Climate Change on birds and our analysis of Common Birds in Decline, it is the foundation for ̽����ѡ’s WatchList, which most identified species in dire need of conservation help.”

The ̽����ѡ Christmas Bird Count began in 1900 when Frank Chapman, founder of Bird-Lore (which evolved into ̽����ѡ magazine) suggested an alternative to the “side hunt,” in which teams competed to see who could shoot the most game, including birds. Chapman proposed that people “hunt” birds only to count them. Chapman’s initiative was described by British actor John Cleese in this video clip from The Big Year http://t.co/EkJ5f0IE

Last year’s count shattered records. A total of 2,215 counts and 62,624 people tallied over 60 million birds. Counts took place in all 50 states, all Canadian provinces, plus 107 count circles in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands. The first ever CBC tally was submitted from Haiti, where the count circle is located at Les Cayes, the birthplace of John James ̽����ѡ. In Colombia, the ̽����ѡ count is a crucially important monitoring system of biodiversity in the country. More about last year’s results here.

̽����ѡ CBC data not only helps identify birds in most urgent need of conservation action; it reveals success stories. The Christmas Bird Count helped document the comeback of the previously endangered Bald Eagle, and significant increases in waterfowl populations, both the result of conservation efforts.

Counts are often family or community traditions that make for fascinating stories. Accuracy is assured by having new participants join an established group that includes at least one experienced birdwatcher. Count volunteers follow specified routes through a designated 15-mile (24-km) diameter circle or can arrange in advance to count the birds at home feeders inside the circle and submit the results to a designated compiler. All individual Christmas Bird Counts are conducted between December 14 and January 5 (inclusive) each season, with each individual count occupying a single calendar day.

The journal Nature issued an editorial citing CBC as a "model" for Citizen Science.

A New York Times opinion piece captured the pleasure and precision of counting: “The personal joy they experience from patiently spotting and jotting down each flitting fellow creature, exotic or not, is balanced by a strong pragmatic factor in the management of the census by the ̽����ѡ.”

To find a count near you http://birds.audubon.org/get-involved-christmas-bird-count

Follow @̽����ѡSociety on Twitter #xmasbirdcount

For images and bird songs media can download, see our Christmas Bird Count Press Room.

For video b-roll of birds seen during winter http://www.audubon.org/videos/christmas-bird-count-slideshow

For media inquiries about the CBC in Canada:                     Dick Cannings

Canadian Christmas Bird Count Coordinator

Bird Studies Canada

Penticton, British Columbia

dcannings@birdscanada.org

Phone: 250-493-3393 (Pacific Time Zone)

For media inquiries about ̽����ѡ’s CBC in California

Garrison Frost

Tel. (510) 601-1866, Ext. 225

Cell: (310)990-5173

gfrost@audubon.org

For media inquires about ̽����ѡ’s CBC in Connecticut

Jeff Cordulack jcordulack@audubon.org

203-869-5272 x239; cell 203-613-8813

For media inquiries about ̽����ѡ’s CBC in the Gulf of Mexico & Louisiana

David J. Ringer

dringer@audubon.org

cell 601-642-7058

For media inquiries about ̽����ѡ’s CBC in Alaska

Beth Peluso, Communications Manager

̽����ѡ Alaska Phone (907) 276-7034

bpeluso@audubon.org

For media inquiries about ̽����ѡ’s CBC in North Carolina

Ida Phillips iphillips@audubon.org

Director of Communications

̽����ѡ North Carolina

Tel. 919-929-3899

For Media Inquiries about CBC in Florida

Jonathan Webber

Conservation Campaign Manager - Conservation

̽����ѡ of Florida

444 Brickell Ave, Ste. 850

Miami, FL 33131-2403

jwebber@audubon.org