Date/Time
Saturday, Dec 20, 2025
12:00 am - 12:00 pm
Join thousands of birders around the world to find as many birds as possible within a 24-hour period during the 126th Christmas Bird Count (CBC)! The 2025 Charlottesville CBC will be held Saturday, Dec. 20 with a weather date of Sunday, Dec. 21.
All levels of birders, from beginners to professional scientists, participate in the count. The data compiled by the Christmas Bird Count is used to inform and power bird conservation efforts by helping researchers study the ongoing status and ranges of bird populations across the Americas. Learn more from the National Audubon Society.
The CCBC covers a circle 15 miles in diameter–centered in Ivy and split into eight sectors–that includes the City of Charlottesville and part of Albemarle County. Various teams of birdwatchers (typically about 20 teams with 60 participants total) explore set routes within the circle to record every individual of every species seen and heard. Birds must be seen or heard while participants are within this circle on the day of the Count for data to go toward the CCBC. All sightings are then organized by a “compiler,” who is Jenny Gaden for our CBC.
Participating is easy and all are welcome! Simply contact Guy Babineau at [email protected] to get started!
Guy will assign you to a team with a pre-determined area to cover. Each team has a leader who coordinates their team’s meeting time and location, sets the route for the day, and compiles the team’s bird sightings. Or, if you prefer and are up to the task, you may request to initiate a new route and be your own leader.
Participants should be prepared for variable and harsh winter weather. Warm, layered clothing with a waterproof later are recommended, along with hand and foot warmers, snacks, lunch, and hot drinks and/or water. Please also note we are in the midst of Virginia’s hunting season, we strongly advise all participants to wear blaze orange. And of course, bring your binoculars and if you have one, a camera to help document rare bird species.
On the evening of the CCBC, participants will join a Zoom video call to tally observed species. More info has been shared for 2025 here: https://www.piedmontvirginiabirdclub.org/events/christmas-bird-count-tally/
Learn more about what the CBC is and how to participate on the Christmas Bird Count page.
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