Cassin's finch at Zion NP, photo by Nic Minetor

In days of not-so-old, hunting enthusiasts would gather on Christmas day for a “side hunt,” literally choosing sides and going out into the wild in teams to see which group could amass the biggest pile of birds and animals. 

No doubt these hunters had a grand time, but by the early 20^th century, scientists and ornithologists began to record declines in bird populations.  While this one annual event could not account for the entire loss of migrating and resident birds, it certainly acted as a contributor—and observers knew that something had to be done.

A clever ornithologist named Frank Chapman proposed a new idea: A Christmas bird census, in which hunters would lay down their guns and join bird lovers in counting every individual bird they saw on a single day of the year.  The first count on December 25, 1900, involved 27 participants in 25 locations from Scotch Lake in New Brunswick, Canada, to Pacific Grove in Monterey County, California. Together, they tallied about 18,500 individual birds of 90 different species.

The concept proved to be useful not only in rescuing bird populations from unnecessary killing, but as a tool for scientists as well.  To this day, the national Christmas Bird Count (CBC)—managed by the National Audubon Society—helps to reveal declines in individual species, concentrations of birds in specific habitats, the effects of habitat loss, and the growth of invasive species (like house sparrows, European starlings and house finches) across the country.

So enthusiastic and dedicated are the birders who participate in the count today that the 2007 Christmas Bird Count tallied 57,700,440 birds in 2,113 circles (each circle is a territory 15 miles in diameter).

If you’re looking for a great way to enjoy your favorite national park over the holidays, sign up to volunteer for the park’s Christmas Bird Count.  Counts are no longer held on Christmas Day, but they are clustered between December 14 and January 5 each year—months when birding can be challenging, but resident species are firmly established in reliable habitats.

Here are just a few of the national parks that participate in the Christmas Bird Count. Click on each for more information about its past results and future events. To find a count in your area, visit Audubon’s CBC information site.

Big Bend NP, Texas

Everglades NP, Florida

Glacier NP, Montana

Great Basin NP, Nevada

Joshua Tree NP, California

Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, Texas

Pipe Spring National Monument, Utah/Arizona

Prince William Forest Park, Virginia

Rocky Mountain NP, Colorado

Yellowstone NP, Wyoming

Yosemite NP, California