Bundled against the December cold, Jeff Osmundson, Colleen Shannon, Peter Gurney, Forrest Almasi and Kam Boullet spent the day crisscrossing La Conner on Dec. 27, binoculars in hand, carefully noting every bird they could see or hear. The team covered the La Conner area as part of the annual Christmas Bird Count, marking the fourth year Osmundson and Shannon have participated locally. Last year, their efforts documented 57 different species in the area.
The Christmas Bird Count is the longest-running citizen science project in the world, with roots that stretch back more than a century. Before the 1900s, the holiday season often included a tradition known as the Christmas “Side Hunt,” where groups competed to kill the most birds and animals. Concerned about declining bird populations, ornithologist Frank M. Chapman proposed an alternative in 1900: count birds instead of hunting them. That first year, 27 volunteers conducted counts across North America, tallying about 90 species.
Today, tens of thousands of volunteers across the Americas take part each year between mid-December and early January, registering through the Audubon Society. The data collected locally — including in places like La Conner — feeds into a massive, decades-long dataset used by scientists, wildlife agencies and conservation groups to track population trends, habitat health and the impacts of environmental change.
Those long-term records have helped shape major conservation findings, including Audubon’s climate change research showing that more than half of North American bird species could lose significant portions of their habitat by 2080. From quiet sloughs to busy waterfronts, the observations made by local birders become part of a much larger picture — one that shows how small, careful acts of watching can help protect birds and the places they call home.
Information from audubon.org was included in this report.
