The BLACK HILLS AUDUBON Annual Christmas Bird Count will be held on Sunday, December 18^th, 2011. This count is part of a larger effort led by Audubon chapters throughout the nation during a two-week window around the Christmas holiday.

Last year, 124 species were recorded! 

The mission of the Bird Count is to identify, count, and record as many different bird species as you see in a particular area. You don't have to stay in one spot all day, nor participate all day long. 

These events are more important than ever because the results are used to monitor the status and distribution of bird populations across the western hemisphere.

• View the CBC Count Circle map.

• For CBC leaders, view the CBC form in Excel (50 kb) or in CBC form in PDF (48 kb)

The success of our count depends on the intensive effort of participants willing to volunteer to spend the whole day in the field, regardless of weather, counting all the birds in their group's assigned count area.  That's the ideal, but we realize that people have busy lives....come for a few hours if that is all you have time for.

It's a serious commitment, and a lot of fun, too! The bird count concluded with the traditional chili feed shortly after dark at the Gull Harbor Lutheran Church at 4610 Boston Harbor Road.

Watch for information on the Backyard Bird Count (in February) and the Bird-a-Thon (in May).