christmas bird count

The inaugural Fair Meadows CBC

The inaugural Fair Meadows CBC

This year we prepared for the first-ever Christmas Bird Count (CBC) at Fair Meadows Sanctuary, after we recently learned that we were not part of any of the official National Audubon CBC circles.

Photo by Gary Shackelford

2023 Madison-area CBC results

Each December, birders come together for the longest-running citizen science project in the US: the Christmas Bird Count. In the Madison-area, the count is coordinated by our organization, and put on with help from around 200 volunteers each year.

Photo by Kelly Colgan Azar

Poynette CBC's Black-legged Kittiwake

Poynette CBC's Black-legged Kittiwake

The 51st Poynette Christmas Bird Count, coordinated by Susan Foote-Martin and Mark Martin, was held on New Year’s Eve 2022. Ten feeder counters, plus three dozen field counters—who walked 19 miles and drove 488 miles—found 68 species and 10,183 birds.

Photo by Mick Thompson

2022 Madison-area CBC results

2022 Madison-area CBC results

Each December, birders come together for the longest-running citizen science project in the US: the Christmas Bird Count. The national effort is coordinated by National Audubon Society, but there are thousands of counts done locally, coordinated by local birders. In the Madison-area, the count is coordinated by Madison Audubon, and put on with help from over 100 volunteers each year.

Photo by Arlene Koziol

Our First Wisconsin CBCs After Decades in Southeast Texas

Christmas Bird Count (CBC) morning dawned at 6°F; the afternoon high was 30°F. While that sounds like a typical morning of a Wisconsin CBC, it was actually the morning of the Buffalo Bayou, Texas CBC in west Houston on December 23, 1989.

Photo by Bob Honig