We wrote last week about one kind of birder holiday, the every-other-year invasion of winter finches that is underway this year. But there is another holiday of sorts for birders that does coincide with a traditional holiday: the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, a “holiday” eagerly anticipated by tens of thousands of birders in the U.S., Canada and across the world.

Coordinated and organized by the National Audubon Society and its many state and local chapters, each Christmas Bird Count is a survey of the birds in an officially designated 15-mile diameter circle. Since its beginning more than 100 years ago, the National Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC) has become the world’s largest citizen science project, engaging more than seventy thousand volunteers to count birds. The data generated from this massive project have been used in countless studies to track the health of bird populations and to learn more about the ecology of winter birds.

Most birders who have participated in a CBC have lots of amazing stories to tell from the adventures, and we are no exception. Readers of this column may remember our story about nearly getting frostbitten (OK, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration) when participating in the Misery CBC or of a memorable encounter with then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annon when we covered part of New York’s Central Park for the New York City CBC.

Christmas Bird Counts (usually) don’t actually take place on Christmas Day, though they must take place between December 14 and January 5. That means the first ones are only weeks away. Thirty-five counts take place in Maine, and there are dozens in nearby states and provinces, providing ample opportunity for participation. There are at least two counts listed as taking place on Friday, December 14, the very first day of the count period. One of these is right in our neighborhood,—the Pemaquid/Damariscotta CBC! The following day, Saturday, December 15 there are even more opportunities to participate, with seven CBCs taking place in Maine including Bath/Phippsburg, Augusta, Thomaston/Rockland, and Portland. 

One of the great things about joining a CBC is that the compiler can usually have you join in with a group that includes skilled observers who can help you learn your birds and provide a fun experience. Some of our earliest and most memorable birding experiences were on our first CBCs.

Participating in a CBC also gives you the good feeling that you are helping to monitor populations of the birds that we all care so much about. Maine CBCs often document the highest counts in the nation of at least a few birds. Last year the Bath/Phippsburg CBC tallied more red-necked grebes than anywhere in the U.S., as did the Biddeford/Kennebunkport CBC for purple sandpipers.

To join a Christmas Bird Count in Maine check out the map and zoom in to see the location and contact information for the compiler.

Jeffrey V. Wells, Ph.D., is a Fellow of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Dr. Wells is one of the nation's leading bird experts and conservation biologists and author of the “Birder’s Conservation Handbook.” His grandfather, the late John Chase, was a columnist for the Boothbay Register for many years. Allison Childs Wells, formerly of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is a senior director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine, a nonprofit membership organization working statewide to protect the nature of Maine. Both are widely published natural history writers and are the authors of the popular book, “Maine’s Favorite Birds” (Tilbury House) and the newly released “Birds of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao” from Cornell University Press.