Christmas Bird Count

The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is widely regarded as the largest and oldest citizen science project in the world. Each year, from 14 December through 5 January, tens of thousands of volunteers head out into the winter to count birds for a day.  This tradition goes back to 1900, and in the intervening years, these birders have built a database on bird populations that is unmatched by any other wildlife census.

It typically works like this:  the count coordinator organizes the local CBC count by setting the date, strategizing a plan of attack, and organizing the participants.  On the appointed date, participants gather in the morning for a brief organizational meeting, and then everyone is sent out to their designated areas of the circle (in our case, a 7.5 mile radius circle centered on the mouth of the Upper Truckee River) to count birds and have fun.  In some years, if the group is small, we all start out by birding together before splitting up into smaller groups.  At the end of the day, the group reconvenes to tally up the totals and swap the day's highlights.  It's a fun and social day, and a great excuse to get out and do some birding in the winter.  People who don't want to go outside get involved too, by keeping track of the birds at their feeders.

TINS Co-founder Will Richardson has coordinated the South Lake Tahoe CBC since 2004, and we usually schedule the count for the first Friday or Monday of the official count period (which begins on 14 December, annually).

The 2012-2013 South Lake Tahoe CBC has been scheduled for Friday, 14 December. Barring a significant winter storm, we will hold the count on that date. We will meet at Alpina Coffee Cafe at 8:00 am. A map can be found HERE. Please contact Will Richardsonwith any questions.

For other California counts, see Ali Sheehey's fantastic summary page by clicking HERE. For other Nevada counts, see the Lahontan Audubon Society's page by clicking HERE.