11 December 2025
Coming soon, the 126th Christmas Bird Count (CBC) runs Sunday 14 Dec 2025 through Monday 5 Jan 2026. It’s a great time to get out and see birds.
The CBC is an annual tradition, coordinated in the U.S. by the National Audubon Society. Each “Count” is a 15-mile diameter circle manned by volunteers who count all the birds they see in a single 24-hour period. Each circle has a Compiler who makes sure there’s no birding overlap. As I write this, Compilers for Sunday’s counts have already mobilized volunteers and are assigning local coverage areas within their circles.
In North America the circles are densely packed in metro areas.
In the Pittsburgh area there are 14+ circles. Just west of Pittsburgh the Imperial CBC, centered on Imperial, PA, will be this Sunday. The “Pittsburgh” CBC, which includes the City of Pittsburgh, is on 27 December and compiled by Brian Shema at ASWP.
It’s easy to participate. Volunteer to count at your own feeders or out in the field. But first, be sure to call or email the compiler to confirm your assignment. Compiler contact information is on the map(*).
I’ll be counting at the Pittsburgh CBC on the Saturday after Christmas. My main assignment will be counting crows and I’ll need your help. Stay tuned for more info.
Now’s the time to count.
(*) To find a Compiler’s contact info go to this link and zoom in on the map until you can see the circle you want. Click on the colored hawk icon for Compiler information.