Join the 127th Christmas Bird Count!
Cedar waxwing feasts on berries in winter. Photo by Monica Hall
Southern Wisconsin is home to thousands of bird-lovers, just like you. The annual Christmas Bird Count is one of the best ways to meet other enthusiastic bird-watchers and help collect important data about birds in south-central Wisconsin at the same time!
The Christmas Bird Count, held annually throughout North America between mid-December and early-January, works to take a snapshot of which bird species are found where during the winter season. Bird watchers count the number and individuals of species over a 24 hour period, and turn all of those data into National Audubon. This project is important for estimating distributions and populations, and find oddities in nature (e.g., what is that Clay-colored Sparrow doing in Wisconsin in December?). It is considered to be the longest-running formal community science project in the nation, now in it’s 127th year!
Wisconsin has many Christmas Bird Counts happening, so you can join one or many near you and your favorite birding grounds—see the full list here.
2026 Counts in the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance chapter area include:
Dates TBD:
Baraboo. Coordinated by Dave Mowers, dmmowers@gmail.com
Cobb (Dodgeville area). Coordinated by Chuck & Jill Roethe
Columbus. Coordinated by Louise Venne, lsvenne@gmail.com, 678-622-5559
Green Lake. Coordinated by Tom Schultz, trschultz@centurytel.net
Poynette (including Goose Pond Sanctuary and Erstad Prairie). Coordinated by Mark Martin and Sue Foote-Martin
Randolph. Coordinated by Jon Roti Roti, roti2russo@charter.net, 920-203-5308
Richland Center. Coordinated by Eric Volden, ericvolden@charter.net, 608-553-2617
Dec. 15: Waterloo, open to more volunteers in the Faville Grove Sanctuary section. Registration for the Faville Grove section opens Nov. 1. Coordinated by Karen Etter Hale.
Dec. 16: Pardeeville. New volunteers welcome, contact coordinator Brian Doverspike, briandoverspike@hotmail.com, 608-697-7599
Dec. 17: Fair Meadows Sanctuary (not an official circle but data will be submitted to eBird regardless). Register here! Coordinated by Penny Shackelford.
Dec. 19: Madison-area, Registration opens Nov. 1. Coordinated by Brenna Marsicek.
Dec. 27: Mount Horeb. New volunteers welcome, contact coordinator Kerry Beheler, kerry.beheler@gmail.com
Jan 1 (2027): Cooksville, full on volunteers, coordinated by Quentin Yoerger.
Brenna Marsicek - Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance director of outreach & Madison-area CBC coordinator
Email: bmarsicek@swibirds.org
Phone: 608-255-2473
Read more about southern Wisconsin’s Christmas Bird Counts
Banner photo by Carolyn Byers
