CHRISTMAS AND BACKYARD BIRD COUNT INFO
Listen to former KAS Education Chair, Pearl Kerber read the children’s picture book Bird Count by Susan Edwards Richmond and illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman,
The 2024 Christmas Bird Count and the 2025 Backyard Bird Count
The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was started in 1900 as an alternative to the Christmas “side hunt” in which teams competed to shoot as many birds as possible. That year, ornithologist
Frank M. Chapman proposed a new holiday tradition: counting birds rather than hunting them. It is now the nation’s longest running community science survey, with more than 80,000 participants.
Kitsap Audubon Society sponsors two CBC circles. Our Kitsap circle count will be on Saturday, December 14, 2024. Our North Kitsap/Port Gamble circle count will be on Saturday, January 4, 2025. Volunteers of all ages and skill levels are welcome to join us. To join a field team, contact the field team leader listed below directly or fill out the form below. If you live within a circle’s boundaries, you can count birds from your own backyard (Contact Janine Schutt).
Although joining a CBC is always fun, its true purpose is to conduct a complete survey of all the birds seen and heard within the circle on the day of the count. Each circle is broken up into geographical areas, and within each area there might be multiple field teams who are assigned to specific locations. Other areas may have a single field team which travels by car to many different locations. Some locations might be more appropriate for younger community scientists or birders doing their first CBC. Check with the area leaders to find a spot that is a good fit for you!
We use optics (binoculars and spotting scopes) to get closer looks at the birds we are identifying and counting. If you have binoculars, please bring them. A spotting scope can be very useful, especially at water locations where birds might be more distant. There are some great videos available online if you aren’t sure how the optics work. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself before the count day, and you can even practice in your own yard. Most field teams will have at least one spotting scope, so being familiar with how that works would be helpful too.
Finally, being familiar with our local birds can be very helpful. If you are new to birding, check out a field guide, a phone app, or look on www.eBird.org to see which species you might expect to encounter.
For other questions about either CBC, contact our designated Compilers (see list):
Kitsap CBC - Janine Schutt (jeschutt@hotmail.com)
North Kitsap CBC - Jennifer Standish (magma1306@gmail.com)
Liability Waiver Policy
Kitsap Audubon requires field trip participants to complete a liability waiver. This simple online form can be accessed via this link. Once a waiver has been signed, it will be valid for the remainder of the KAS operating year (September – June). Trip leaders will provide detailed instructions upon event registration.
Kitsap county Bird Count Saturday
December 14th, 2024.
AREA#, Location, CONTACT, TELEPHONE, E-MAIL
1-Port Orchard: Chazz Hesselein 360-633-0486 chazz@hesselein.com
2 -West Bremerton: Brad Waggoner 206-780-9581 wagtail24@gmail.com
3 -Chico/Seabeck: Lisa Pedersen 360-830-4768 lisa_mp52@yahoo.com
4 -East Bremerton: Jessica Klinkert 360-551-2647 jklinkert_2000@yahoo.com
5 -South Bainbridge Island (FULL): Lee & Kirk Robinson 206-498-8872 leerob9672@gmail.com
6 -North Bainbridge Island: Jamie Acker 206-499-7121 owler637@gmail.com
7A-Silverdale/Keyport: Al & Andrew Westphal 206-780-7844 westphalac@aol.com
7B- Poulsbo: Kevin Eyer 360-620-5096 eyer.blueheron@gmail.com
Owling: Jamie Acker 206-499-7121 owler@sounddsl.com
Backyard Count-Janine Schutt 360-830-4446 jeschutt@hotmail.com
CBC Data Compiler- Janine Schutt 360-830-4446 jeschutt@hotmail.com
NK-Port Gamble Christmas Bird Count
Saturday, January 4th
AREA #, Location, Contact, TELEPHONE, E-MAIL
1 -Hansville: Al Westphal 206-780-7844 westphalac@aol.com
2 -Kingston: Cindi Nevins 360-598-2243 tenevins@earthlink.net
3 -Port Gamble: Judy & Don Willott 206-842-6939 jdwillott@mac.com
4 -Hood Canal: Jennifer Standish 206-293-9320 magma1306@gmail.com
5 -Poulsbo: Gene & Sany Bullock 360-394-5635 genebullock@comcast.net
6 -Miller Bay: Nancy D’Archangel 360-271-6565 njdarchangel@gmail.com
Owling: Jamie Acker 206-499-7121 owler@sounddsl.com
Backyard Count Janine Schutt 360-830-4446 jeshutt@hotmail.com
CBC Compiler- Jennifer Standish 206-293-9320 magma1306@gmail.com
The 28th annual Great Backyard Bird Count - Friday, February 14th, through Monday, February 17th, 2025
The Great Backyard Bird Count (birdcount.org), February 14-17, is a free, fun, and easy event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird populations. Participants are asked to count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the four-day event and report their sightings online at birdcount.org. Anyone can take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, from beginning bird watchers to experts, and you can participate from your backyard, or anywhere in the world. Each checklist submitted during the GBBC helps researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society learn more about how birds are doing, and how to protect them and the environment we share. Last year, more than 160,000 participants submitted their bird observations online, creating the largest instantaneous snapshot of global bird populations ever recorded.
Bird populations are always shifting and changing. For example, 2014 GBBC data highlighted a large irruption of Snowy Owls across the northeastern, mid-Atlantic, and Great Lakes areas of the United States. The data also showed the effects that warm weather patterns have had on bird movement around the country.
GBBC 2024 in a Snapshot:
7,920 species of birds identified
210 countries or subregions
384,416 eBird checklists
313,874 Merlin Bird IDs (step-by-step, sound, or photo)
164,740 photos, videos, and sounds added to Macaulay Library
642,003 estimated global participants
385 reported community events
Photo of flock of Mergansers during NKPG CBC at Norwegian Point Park provided by Michael Szerlog.
KAS practice event in December 2018
Jennifer and I would like to thank all of you for an amazing CBC this past year. Here are some interesting comparisons of the last 4 Kitsap Circle CBCs:
Kitsap County Bird Count
2022: 119 species, 16,089 individual birds, 46 volunteers
2021: 111 species, 13,660 individual birds, 33 volunteers
2020: 117 species, 22,667* individual birds, 45 volunteers
2019: 116 species, 21,557 individual birds, 72 volunteers
2018: 117 species, 22,275 individual birds, 70 volunteers
North Kitsap/Port Gamble/Hansville Bird
2022: 116 species, 13,258 individual birds, 41 volunteers
2021: 105 species, 7,209 individual birds, 35 volunteers
2020: 116 species, 15,940 individual birds, 45 volunteers
2019: 113 species, 12,593 individual birds, 48 volunteers
2018: 116 species, 11,247 individual birds, 66 volunteers
* Including 4,486 pine siskins, which shattered the previous record of 2,540 from 2012.
You can check the CBC count circle website and zoom in on the map to see if you live within one of the count circles: 121st Christmas Bird Count: Map of Active Circles (arcgis.com)
Each CBC circle is 15 miles in diameter, with teams counting birds in defined segments. Following each CBC, the Compiler collects results from all teams, as well as backyard counters, and submits the final tallies to National Audubon.
Results from Christmas Bird Counts are used by ornithologists and others to monitor bird population trends and the impact of climate.
Image from National Audubon GIS Map Viewer
GIS Map of Existing Counting Circles
This map displays all active circles expected to occur during Audubon’s 119th Christmas Bird Count. You can zoom in to a specific location, and click on the circle to find the upcoming date and contact information for the compiler, or coordinator of that circle.
Christmas Bird Count Results
This is the main page from which you can explore Christmas Bird Count results.
The information displayed here is a brief summary of the Christmas Bird Count results from the current season.
To begin viewing CBC data, hover your cursor over the "Current Year" or "Historical" headings at the top of the page. Each section will allow you to select "Results by Count" or "Results by Species" which you can view by clicking on the appropriate listing.
Kitsap Audubon’s Data can be found by searching:
United States/ Washington/ Kitsap County
United States/Washington/Port Gamble
Data can be searched by year and by count and species.
Expanded CBC roles for Janine Schutt and Jennifer Standish
Janine Schutt and Jennifer Standish have assumed the additional responsibilities of organizing our annual Christmas Bird Counts, in addition to compiling the results. Janine became compiler for our traditional CBC several years ago. Jennifer was appointed compiler for the new North Kitsap CBC, now in its second year.
Both will now have full responsibility for organizing and managing these two CBCs, including guiding and directing more than a hundred volunteers in 16 field teams, and those counting birds the same day in their own backyards.
Kitsap Audubon has been conducting annual Christmas Bird Counts since 1973, and just completed its 45th CBC. Gene Bullock has been organizing and promoting Kitsap Audubon’s annual Christmas Bird Counts for 15 years. Kitsap Audubon is blessed with outstanding CBC field team leaders. A number of them have been leading CB C field teams in Kitsap County for 15 to 20 years or more.