Christmas Bird Count 2024
Photo: Camilla Cerea / Audubon
Join Us for a Historic 125th Christmas Bird Count
The 125th annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count—the nation's longest-running Community-Science bird project—will soon be underway nationwide, and in all five boroughs of New York City.
Anyone can participate, even beginner birders! The data collected over the past century by volunteer observers, ranging from experienced ornithologists to casual nature enthusiasts, allow researchers to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America.
This family-friendly activity is a great way to explore our City's natural areas while contributing to valuable scientific research, and we encourage all to participate!
Christmas Bird Counts in Manhattan and Northern New Jersey
NYC Bird Alliance is coordinating counts for the New Jersey Lower Hudson (NJLH) count circle, which will take place on Sunday, December 15, 2024 across all of Manhattan, Governors Island, Randall's Island, Roosevelt Island, and parts of northern New Jersey. See the table below for all of our count locations and information on how to register. Count durations vary depending on location but volunteers are welcome to join even if they cannot stay for the entire time!
Location Meeting Time Registration Link Notes Carl Schurz Park 8:15am Traversing the park involves some stairs, though the group will try to avoid the steeper ones. Central Park 8:00am The count at Central Park will be followed by a compilation event at the Arsenal at 12:30pm. Please RSVP for the compilation event through the Central Park count registration form. All attendees must RSVP in advance. East Village 7:30am Governors Island 10:00am To get to Governors Island, take the ferry from the Battery Maritime Building, located at 10 South Street in Lower Manhattan. The Governors Island ferry is free on weekends before noon. Harlem Parks 8:00am This count includes Morningside Park, St Nicholas Park, and Jackie Robinson Park.
Please note that traversing these parks will involve following paved paths and as well as going up/down some steps and inclines.Hudson & Bergen Counties, NJ Contact Shayna Marchese at shayna.marchese@gmail.com to participate. Hudson Yards 1:30pm This count includes the Javits Center green roof and Bella Abzug Park. Inwood Hill 7:30am This count includes Inwood Hill Park, Fort Tryon, the MET Cloisters, Isham Park, Swindler's Cove, and Highbridge Park. Little Island & Surrounding Parks 8:00am This count includes Gansevoort Peninsula, Little Island, the Pier 57 rooftop, and 14th St Park. Lower East Side 9:00am This count includes East River Park and Corlears Hook Park. Madison Square Park
("slow walk" count)8:00am This is an accessible “slow walk” count. NY Harbor & Lower Manhattan 7:30am This count covers lower Manhattan from City Hall Park to Battery Park. It will end with a count on the Staten Island ferry from Whitehall Ferry Terminal to the Statue of Liberty. Randall’s Island 9:00am Riverside Park North
(Spanish-English count)8:00am This is a bilingual Spanish-English count and will cover Riverside Park from 96th St and above. Riverside Park South 8:30am This count covers Riverside Park from 96th St. and below. Roosevelt Island Parks 10:00am This count includes Lighthouse Park, Southpoint Park, and FDR Four Freedoms Park. Stuyvesant Town & Cove 8:20am Union Square Park 8:30am Washington Square Park 9:00am
Christmas Bird Count in Central Park 2023. Photo: NYC Bird Alliance
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Hooded Merganser, a common yet always delightful site at the Christmas Bird Count. Photo: Canva Images
Christmas Bird Count in Prospect Park 2014. Photo: Camilla Cerea / Audubon
Christmas Bird Count in Central Park 2023. Photo: NYC Bird Alliance
Hooded Merganser, a common yet always delightful site at the Christmas Bird Count. Photo: Canva Images
Christmas Bird Count in Prospect Park 2014. Photo: Camilla Cerea / Audubon
Christmas Bird Counts Elsewhere in New York City
In addition to NJLH circle counts, Christmas bird counts for circles in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Westchester, Queens, and Staten Island will take place throughout the month of December. These counts are coordinated by compilers independent of NYC Bird Alliance, but we encourage you to participate in them if you can. The more data we can all gather throughout the City's five boroughs, the better for our birds! To participate in counts for Brooklyn, Bronx and Westchester, Queens, and Staten Island, please see the contact information in the table below.
Location/
Count CircleDate Contact Name Contact Email Website Notes Bronx & Westchester Sun, Dec 22, 2024 Michael Bochnik bochnikm@cs.com LINK Contact Michael Bochnik or one of the regional area leaders (see website) if you wish to participate in the field or if you want to count at a feeder. Brooklyn Sat, Dec 14, 2024 Bobbi Manian roberta.manian@gmail.com Registration deadline:
Wed, Dec 11, 2024Queens Sun, Dec 15, 2024 Corey Finger 10000birdsblogger@gmail.com LINK Registration deadline:
Fri, Dec 6, 2024
If you have done a Christmas Bird Count for the Queens circle in a previous year, you know what to do!
If you need to be assigned to a sector, please email Corey Finger who will assign you to a sector and give you the contact info for the sector leader.Staten Island Sat, Dec 14, 2024 Cliff Hagen chagen72@gmail.com Registration deadline:
Sat, Dec 7, 2024
The Staten Island CBC is over 100 years old and coverage is broken down into 14 distinct territories with teams of birders in each. New birders will need to be added onto current teams. Please email Cliff Hagen to register.
Christmas Bird Count History and Data
Learn about the full history of the Christmas Bird Count and the compiled data. To see this year’s results from all over the country as they come in, as well as to get historical data from years prior, visit National Audubon Society’s website.
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