The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is one of the longest-running wildlife census projects in the world and is organized by the National Audubon Society. Over 80,000 volunteers worldwide participate in Christmas Bird Counts spanning the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America. It was originally started in the 1900’s by ornithologist Frank Chapman, who thought it was better to count the birds instead of hunting them on Christmas Day.

Since 1954, Nantucket has been a proud participant in the CBC, which was originally conducted with only 3 volunteers. It has now expanded to over 70 volunteers including local and off-island birders. The CBC is a fantastic way of getting a quick “snap-shot” of what and how many birds are within a definitive radius in 24 hours, and every bird counts!

On Count Day, the entire island is divided up into eight different sections and each one is assigned a team leader and field observers. At the end of the 24-hr period, numbers of all species observed in each section are compiled into one list. The list is reviewed and finalized at the end of "Count Week". Sometimes certain birds aren’t found on Count Day. Birds not seen then but observed during Count Week (the three days before and after Count Day) are also recorded."

The UMass Nantucket Field Station hosts a compilation meeting at 6PM on Count Day for all participating volunteers to celebrate their findings of the day.

We have different volunteer options:

Do you have a bird feeder? We need Feeder Watchers! A Feeder Watcher can keep track of the birds that visit their feeders within the 24-hr count period.

Do you have a favorite conservation property you like to walk? You can volunteer as a Field Observer of that property and then report your findings.

If you can dedicate the whole day and enjoy birding, you can be assigned to one of the eight sections as a field observer!