Between December 14, 2022 and January 5, 2023, tens of thousands of birders and winter enthusiasts will rally together to count millions of birds across North America as part of the 122nd Christmas Bird Count. The count in Port Alberni will take place on Saturday December 31, 2022 — sun, rain or snow.

Each year, Birds Canada and the National Audubon Society help coordinate and support the efforts of more than 2500 counts throughout the Western Hemisphere. Data collected during the Port Alberni Christmas Bird Count include details on the number of birds of each species seen or heard within a local 24-km diameter circle, centred at Victoria Quay. Surveying this circle year-after-year contributes valuable long-term information on how our winter birds are faring.

Novice or experienced, the Christmas Bird Count is for everyone. Whether you like exploring forests, fields, and waters in search of lingering migrants, or prefer counting feeder birds from your window with a warm mug in hand, the Christmas Bird Count offers diverse opportunities for participation. No matter how you contribute, all Christmas Bird Count observations are used to help study the health of winter bird populations over time and guide conservation strategies to support birds and their habitats.

“Every Christmas Bird Count participant is an important part of this valuable project for birds,” say Liz Purves, Birds Canada’s Christmas Bird Count Coordinator. “Whether you participate for bird conservation, for some friendly birding competition, or for an excuse to get outside in winter, your efforts are meaningful for birds.” The skills and dedication of thousands of volunteer Citizen Scientists harnessed during the Christmas Bird Count achieve incredible results that professional ornithologists and wildlife biologists could never accomplish alone. During last year’s count in Port Alberni, slightly more than ten thousand birds of over 80 species were recorded.

The Christmas Bird Count took root over a century ago when 27 birders in 25 localities from Toronto, Ontario to Pacific Grove, California, led by ornithologist Frank Chapman, proposed a conservation-minded alternative to the traditional ‘side-hunt,’ a Christmas Day competition to kill the most birds and small mammals. This alternative initiative to identify, count, and record all birds on Christmas Day 1900 has become North America’s longest-running Citizen Science project. Port Alberni’s Christmas Bird Count has been held for nearly 30 years.

For queries about Port Alberni’s Christmas Bird Count, please send an email to info@birdalberni.ca. For more information about the Christmas Bird Count in general, visit the Birds Canada website