How to Join a Christmas Bird Count (Beginners Welcome)

The Christmas Bird Count is open to complete beginners, and joining takes one email. Find the count circle nearest you on Audubon's CBC map, email that circle's compiler before count day, and tell them it's your first time — they will put you on a team with an experienced birder.

That's the whole barrier. There isn't a test, a membership, or a fee.

The myth that keeps people out

The single biggest reason people don't sign up is the belief that you have to identify everything on the wing. You don't. Audubon's own FAQ answers this directly: birders of all skill sets are involved in the CBC, and if you are a beginning birder, your compiler will pair you with an expert initially.

What you're actually there to do:

• Be extra eyes. Spotting is genuinely useful even when you can't name the bird.
• Ask questions. Count day is one of the best free birding lessons in North America — a full day beside someone who has been doing this for decades.

What you're not responsible for:

• The final call on an ID. Somebody more experienced makes it.
• The data sheet. Somebody on your team keeps the tally on day one, not you.

What the Christmas Bird Count actually is

The CBC is a winter bird census run by the National Audubon Society — the nation's longest-running community science bird project, with annual summaries reaching back to 1901.

It is not a competition and not a big-day list. It's a real census: volunteers count every bird they see or hear, all day — total individuals, not just species.

Element	How it works
Season window	December 14 – January 5, inclusive, every year
Your count day	One calendar day inside that window, chosen by your circle
Count area	An established 15-mile-diameter circle (about 24 km)
Organizer	A volunteer compiler per circle
Cost	Free
2026-27 season	Audubon's 127th Christmas Bird Count

Each circle is subdivided into territories, and each territory gets a team.

How to sign up, step by step

1. Open Audubon's CBC circle map. Circles shown green or yellow are open to new participants; red circles are full.
2. Pick a circle near you and open its pop-up for the compiler's contact details.
3. Email the compiler in advance — weeks ahead is ideal, since territories get assigned early. Say where you live, whether you can drive, and that you're new.
4. Ask about the feeder-watcher option if walking a territory all day isn't realistic for you.
5. Wait for your assignment — you'll be told your territory, your team, and the meeting time.

What count day looks like

Expect a long, sociable, low-pressure day.

• An early start, often before dawn, sometimes with an owling run.
• A small team and an assigned territory you cover on foot and by car.
• Constant counting — every individual bird, plus notes on anything unusual.
• Effort tracking. Because the CBC is a genuine census, effort data are recorded alongside bird numbers — hours and distance by party, on foot and by car — so results can be compared fairly across years.
• A tally at the end. Many circles close with a countdown dinner or potluck where teams read out their totals species by species. For a lot of participants it's the best part.

The feeder-watcher option (the one nobody mentions)

Your own window counts as a territory

If your home is inside a count circle's boundary, you can participate from your own window — you report the birds visiting your feeders on count day, as long as you've made prior arrangement with the compiler.

This is the door in for anyone who can't hike a territory in December: limited mobility, small kids, no car, or simply a cold-weather limit. Feeder watchers are counted as real participants and their numbers go into the same dataset.

What the data is for

Repetition is what makes it science

CBC records are one of the deepest long-term wildlife datasets anywhere. Audubon notes that CBC data have been used in hundreds of analyses, peer-reviewed publications, and government reports over the decades.

Because the count repeats in the same circles, on the same calendar window, with effort recorded, researchers can separate real population change from "we just looked harder this year." That makes it a workhorse for winter population trend research and for climate work tracking how species' winter ranges are shifting north.

Practical prep for a December day outdoors

• Dress in layers, and assume you'll be standing still more than walking — that's what gets people cold.
• Bring a thermos and more food than you think you need.
• Charge your phone fully — cold drains batteries fast. Keep it in an inside pocket.
• Brush up on your common winter birds beforehand. Knowing juncos, chickadees, House Finches, and your local sparrows makes the whole day easier; a regional guide like the Kaufman Field Guide to Birds is enough.
• Waterproof boots and warm gloves you can still work binoculars in.

If a CBC doesn't fit, count anyway

• Project FeederWatch — a November–April feeder survey from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada. Count as often or as little as you like. There's an $18 annual fee in the US; Canadian participants give any donation to Birds Canada.
• The Great Backyard Bird Count — four days each February, run jointly by Audubon, the Cornell Lab, and Birds Canada. Free, global, and 15 minutes is a valid contribution.

Any of the three gets your observations into real science. The CBC just happens to come with breakfast in the dark and a room full of people arguing happily about gull totals.