Christmas Bird Count  Dec. 14, 2025

Each December, thousands swap wrapping paper for binoculars and step outside for a different kind of holiday tradition: the Christmas Bird Count. Started in 1900 by ornithologist Frank M. Chapman, the count offered a peaceful alternative to the Christmas "side hunts," where people competed to shoot the most animals. Chapman had a better idea: to count them instead. Over a century later, that simple shift has grown into the world"s longest-running citizen-science project.

© Tim Laman/NPL/Minden Pictures

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