On Sunday December 17 the WBC will conduct our annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) in the Williamsburg area. The National Audubon Society has administered the CBC for 124 years, and 2023 will mark the 47th year of conducting the count in Williamsburg. Our Williamsburg count area is defined by a circle that is 15 miles in diameter and centered at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center.
This location is advantageous because the circle encompasses a wide variety of habitats and includes birding hot spots such as Jamestown Island, Hog Island, New Quarter Park, Cheatham Annex, and portions of Gloucester along the York River. The Christmas Bird Count is the longest running citizen science project in the United States. More information regarding its history and benefits to conservation can be found online at
https://www.audubon.org/conservation/science/christmas-bird-count
The Christmas Bird Count is not only an important citizen science project. It’s fun to participate, and the CBC is also a volunteer opportunity for those of us who are Virginia Master Naturalists. Please consider participating this year—we especially need more feeder watchers to tally birds in neighborhood areas
that aren’t covered by the field teams. Participating as a feeder watcher follows a protocol very similar to Project Feederwatch administered by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. You can observe multiple times throughout the day and for as long as you like each time. Even just 30 minutes of data is valuable.
It’s also possible to venture out beyond your backyard and tally birds around your neighborhood as long as we keep track of who is covering specific areas to avoid overlap. Your count results will be compiled with all of the data collected on the count day and submitted into the CBC database maintained by the National Audubon Society. We’re hoping for a lot of participation this year, so please don’t hesitate to contact me at jcorliss240@cox.net with questions about how to be a part of this year’s count!