A census is taken every 10 years to determine the population of the United States. But, how do you track the population of birds? Every year, around the week of Christmas, birders around the country cover their assigned areas to count the number of species and individual birds. This is known as a Christmas Count (CBC). It is our annual census of birds, and the data is used by scientists and groups to track the status and trends of each species.
As an example, the St. Petersburg CBC marks our 90th anniversary this year. Volunteers meet on our day to spread out and cover our âcircleâ that has historically been mapped out to cover the same areas as previous years. The teams count each species and also give an exact count, or as accurate a number as possible, of individuals of each species.
If youâre interested in volunteering or finding out more information, contact your local Audubon!