Throughout the nineteenth century, it was common to go out on Christmas Day and hunt birds. Folks would compete to see who could shoot the most. In 1900, ornithologist Frank Chapman had an idea. On December 25th he gathered 26 other bird enthusiasts to go outside and count live birds. They counted ninety bird species that day and an annual tradition was born. The Christmas Bird Count is now the longest-running citizen science survey in the world.
According to the Audubon website, the count is important for many reasons:
The data collected by observers over the past century allow Audubon researchers, conservation biologists, wildlife agencies and other interested individuals to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America. When combined with other surveys such as the Breeding Bird Survey, it provides a picture of how the continent's bird populations have changed in time and space over the past hundred years.
The counts don’t all take place on Christmas Day – this year they’re scheduled between December 14th to January 5th. A few weeks back I met up with folks from the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania to talk about the importance of counts in this area:
And what does all this have to do with plants? While birds are happily eating the suet in our backyard today, in the spring and summer they’re looking for a different kind of sustenance. Once the robins start building nests in our yard, they’ll be searching for worms and insects to feed their young. According to author and entomologist Doug Tallamy, 96% of birds feed insects to their young. In order to have a yard full of insects to support these birds, I need to have a yard full of native trees, shrubs and flowers that will act as host plants for the insects.
Through data collected from the Christmas Bird Counts, scientists have seen the decline of numerous bird species over the last century. Part of that decline is certainly linked to a loss of habitat and the native plants that make up that habitat. So far this year, birders have counted 2,941,849 birds through 138 separate counts across the Americas.
Have you ever participated in a bird count? Or do you have any plans to plant more native plants in your backyard so you can count more birds at home? I’d love to hear about it!
Happy holidays and happy new year and happy bird counting to all my planty friends out there! Thanks for reading along and sharing so many insightful comments this year. Here’s to more gardening and plant-centric conversations in 2024!
And one more thing: Margaret Roach wrote a fascinating article in the NY Times about Matt Mattus and his private experimental garden in Massachusetts. She shares some of his findings from his experiments with vines:
Vines, Mr. Mattus has come to understand, are not so different from us: They do better when the right support is offered.
You can read the article here.
What a great holiday tradition. I'm a big proponent of and cultivator of native plants. Now I'm adding a bird counting to my holiday rituals.
Great story and cute owl!