Photo: Anthony Sulpizio
Christmas Bird Count 2019
NOVEMBER 22, 2019 — The holidays are fast approaching, and you know what that means: it’s almost time for the Christmas Bird Count!
“CBC” doesn’t just stand for our national broadcaster. In fact, the history of the Christmas Bird Count actually pre-dates the TV and radio network, with the first count being conducted by William H. Moore on Christmas Day in the year 1900. The CBC has grown from 27 bird count areas in the early days, to over 2,000 Count Circles, areas measuring 24km in diameter that have been identified as priority count locations.
Within each Count Circle, a date between December 14 and January 5 is chosen and volunteers — either at home watching their feeders or out in the field — identify both the species of birds and the number of individuals observed. In recent years, approximately 45 Count Circles in New Brunswick have counted about 130 species and over 100,000 individuals. Not bad for a day out during the darkest and coldest time of the year.
Anyone interested in spending a few hours outdoors over the Christmas season and participating in North America’s longest running citizen science project is encouraged to contact any of the Count Circle coordinators. You don’t need to know the birds; you just need to be able to hear or see them. And, if you get outdoors with the 25,000 other North Americans who have been doing exactly that for over 100 years, you just might surprise yourself with how many birds call New Brunswick home.
List of 2019/2020 counts for New Brunswick*:
- Dalhousie: December 14 (Contact: Mike Lushington, carlalushington@gmail.com)
- Edmundston: December 14 (Contact: Roy Lapointe, charoylap@gmail.com)
- Moncton: December 14 (Contact: Roger Leblanc, parus@nb.sympatico.ca)
- Red Bank/Sunny Corner: December 14 (Contact: Dave McLeod, mcleodda@nbnet.nb.ca)
- Sackville: December 14 (Contact: Sean Blaney, seanbeck@nb.sympatico.ca)
- Stanley: December 14 (Contact: Julie Singleton, bowerbk@nbnet.nb.ca)
- Fredericton: December 15 (Contact: Arielle DeMerchant, arielledemerchant@gmail.com, 506-261-5304)
- Miramichi: December 15 (Contact: Pam Watters, watterspj3@gmail.com)
- Saint John: December 15 (Contact: Don MacPhail, dm@qcca.ca)
- Shediac: December 15 (Contact: gilles.belliveau@gmail.com)
- Jacquet River: December 16 (Contact: Mike Lushington, carlalushington@gmail.com)
- Caraquet: December 17 (Contact: donegodin@yahoo.com)
- Cape Tormentine: December 18 (Contact: John Klymko, jklymko@gmail.com)
- Kouchibouguac National Park: December 19 (Contact: david.mazerolle@canada.ca)
- Sainte-Anne-du-Madawaska: December 21 (Contact: Roy Lapointe, charoylap@gmail.com)
- Tracadie-Sheila: December 21 (Contact: jolandestp@rogers.com)
- Minto/Chipman: December 27 (Contact: emills52@gmail.com)
- Hampstead: December 28 (Contact: markaren@nbnet.nb.ca)
- New Jersey/Neguac: December 28 (Contact: Dave McLeod, mcleodda@nbnet.nb.ca)
- St. Leonard: December 28 (Contact: Roy Lapointe, charoylap@gmail.com)
- Riverside-Albert: January 1 (Contact: David Christie, maryspt@mac.com)
- Quispamsis/Hampton: January 4 (Contact: Jim Wilson, jgw@nbnet.nb.ca)
*List updated December 16, 2019
Bookmark this page and check back often as we will be updating this list as more counts are announced. You can also check out the Birds Canada interactive count map here. 
