Bird Counts
CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS
Since the founding of the Beckham Bird Club, its members have participated in the annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) organized by the National Audubon Society.
The CBC is held from December 14 through January 5. The purpose is to track wintering bird populations across the United States and Canada and, more recently, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
In order to provide consistency over time, the CBC is organized into permanent counting circles, each 15 miles in diameter. Each circle is surveyed for a full calendar day once during the count window. A compiler is responsible for each circle; compilers recruit volunteers, organize the count and put together and report the results.
A number of counts are held in the Louisville area each year. They include the main Louisville circle, a count centered on Otter Creek Park in Meade County, and Bernheim Forest. Other counts are conducted across Kentucky and welcome participation by BBC members.
For information on upcoming CBCs, watch the BBC newsletter or check the Kentucky Ornithological Society website. The National Audubon Society main CBC website has a wealth of information that covers counts in our region and elsewhere.
2025 CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS BEGIN DECEMBER 14 - LOUISVILLE CBC IS THAT DAY
The Louisville Christmas Bird Count, sponsored jointly by the Kentucky Ornithological Society and the Beckham Bird Club, is scheduled for Sunday, December 14, 2025. Anyone interested in participating in the Louisville count should contact Louisville CBC Compiler and Kentucky Regional CBC Coordinator James Wheat by email ([email protected]) or, if you know one of the section leaders, by reaching out to them directly. If you can't be in the field on Count Day, please let James Wheat know if you can help out by watching your feeders in the Count Circle. We're hoping for a great count day, and our section leaders are already planning to scout their areas!
If you happen to go birding within the Count Circle during Count Week (Dec 11 - 17), please use eBird to record your checklists, so we can track Count Week species.
For information on other counts in the region over the three-week CBC period, including Shelbyville (December 20), Bernheim Forest (January 1, 2026), Otter Creek Park (TBD), Hardin County (TBD), Lincoln Birthplace (TBD) and others across Kentucky, consult the KOS website at https://www.birdky.org/annualcbc.php.
GLOBAL BIG DAY
Since 2015, the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology has organized Global Big Day, when birders around the world are encouraged to spend the day trying to see as many species as possible. Global Big Days are held on the first or second Saturday in May, to coincide with the northward spring migration in the northern hemisphere. In 2018, an October date was added, picking up the tail end of fall migration in the northern half of the world and spring migration south of the equator.
Birders are instructed to submit results to the eBird website, which compiles data from the planetary level down to the county level.
The advent of Global Big Day sparked friendly competition among birders in many areas, including Kentucky. The Beckham Bird Club and birders in the Lexington area have been striving to outdo each other in the number of species seen on the spring Global Big Day in Jefferson and Fayette counties. The results thus far (May totals - record high count records in red):
Jefferson Fayette Statewide
2025 140 145 195
2024 149 144 183
2023 154 157 195
2022 129 140 181 (Henderson County - 133)
2021 151 142 196
2020 141 148 190
2019 150 152 209
2018 157 160 193
2017 137 113 177
2016 117 102 168 (Pulaski County - 119)
2015 129 107 176
Since the founding of the Beckham Bird Club, its members have participated in the annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) organized by the National Audubon Society.
The CBC is held from December 14 through January 5. The purpose is to track wintering bird populations across the United States and Canada and, more recently, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
In order to provide consistency over time, the CBC is organized into permanent counting circles, each 15 miles in diameter. Each circle is surveyed for a full calendar day once during the count window. A compiler is responsible for each circle; compilers recruit volunteers, organize the count and put together and report the results.
A number of counts are held in the Louisville area each year. They include the main Louisville circle, a count centered on Otter Creek Park in Meade County, and Bernheim Forest. Other counts are conducted across Kentucky and welcome participation by BBC members.
For information on upcoming CBCs, watch the BBC newsletter or check the Kentucky Ornithological Society website. The National Audubon Society main CBC website has a wealth of information that covers counts in our region and elsewhere.
2025 CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS BEGIN DECEMBER 14 - LOUISVILLE CBC IS THAT DAY
The Louisville Christmas Bird Count, sponsored jointly by the Kentucky Ornithological Society and the Beckham Bird Club, is scheduled for Sunday, December 14, 2025. Anyone interested in participating in the Louisville count should contact Louisville CBC Compiler and Kentucky Regional CBC Coordinator James Wheat by email ([email protected]) or, if you know one of the section leaders, by reaching out to them directly. If you can't be in the field on Count Day, please let James Wheat know if you can help out by watching your feeders in the Count Circle. We're hoping for a great count day, and our section leaders are already planning to scout their areas!
If you happen to go birding within the Count Circle during Count Week (Dec 11 - 17), please use eBird to record your checklists, so we can track Count Week species.
For information on other counts in the region over the three-week CBC period, including Shelbyville (December 20), Bernheim Forest (January 1, 2026), Otter Creek Park (TBD), Hardin County (TBD), Lincoln Birthplace (TBD) and others across Kentucky, consult the KOS website at https://www.birdky.org/annualcbc.php.
GLOBAL BIG DAY
Since 2015, the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology has organized Global Big Day, when birders around the world are encouraged to spend the day trying to see as many species as possible. Global Big Days are held on the first or second Saturday in May, to coincide with the northward spring migration in the northern hemisphere. In 2018, an October date was added, picking up the tail end of fall migration in the northern half of the world and spring migration south of the equator.
Birders are instructed to submit results to the eBird website, which compiles data from the planetary level down to the county level.
The advent of Global Big Day sparked friendly competition among birders in many areas, including Kentucky. The Beckham Bird Club and birders in the Lexington area have been striving to outdo each other in the number of species seen on the spring Global Big Day in Jefferson and Fayette counties. The results thus far (May totals - record high count records in red):
Jefferson Fayette Statewide
2025 140 145 195
2024 149 144 183
2023 154 157 195
2022 129 140 181 (Henderson County - 133)
2021 151 142 196
2020 141 148 190
2019 150 152 209
2018 157 160 193
2017 137 113 177
2016 117 102 168 (Pulaski County - 119)
2015 129 107 176
NORTH AMERICAN BREEDING BIRD SURVEY
The North American Breeding Bird Survey is an annual census of breeding bird populations organized by the US Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Participants survey routes following a set protocol.
Experienced birders are encouraged to sign up to cover vacant routes. You must be able to accurately identify all birds in your area by sight and by song only and successfully complete a training and qualification exercise. More information can be found at at USGC/PWRC website.
NORTH AMERICAN BREEDING BIRD SURVEY
The North American Breeding Bird Survey is an annual census of breeding bird populations organized by the US Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Participants survey routes following a set protocol.
Experienced birders are encouraged to sign up to cover vacant routes. You must be able to accurately identify all birds in your area by sight and by song only and successfully complete a training and qualification exercise. More information can be found at at USGC/PWRC website.