CBC for Kids!  Celebrate the holiday season with kids birding....
Every year for over a century “Christmas Bird Counts” (CBC's) have been run across America during the holiday season. Young kids with their families are often not included with this important 24 hour rigorous “citizen science” effort...so we created the Audubon CBC for Kids... and families...using some of the important basic ingredients of this grand old tradition. The objective is to have fun and potentially create a “farm team” of birders and conservationists for the future of birding and encourage families to enjoy nature together. It only takes 2 teams to get started! It is a wonderfully simple, healthy, holiday celebration for almost any school, youth group, Audubon chapter, nature center, wildlife refuge or local community organization.

A DOZEN PLANNING ELEMENTS

1. Potential Partners - Community centers, rec & park departments, nature centers, civic clubs like Rotary, 4H, Boys & Girls Clubs, scouts, church or schools. Find a facility/partner to support a half day event that could provide a room, volunteers, snacks, water and basic supplies.


2. Birding Leaders - Connect with a local birding group, Audubon Chapter... for experienced adult birding team leaders that enjoy working with kids and families.


3. Dates & Time - The half day event (8:30AM-2:30PM) can take place on any day you choose typically ranging from Dec. 10 - Jan 15th. (note: This is a very busy season for families and traditional AudubonCBC birders....so plan around the traditional CBC.)

4. Press Release & Public Meeting & Sign Up - Create a press release and offer a public information meeting a few weeks before the actual event.  Be prepared with the rule for the day, birding routes, disclaimer forms, sample bird check list and begin team sign up. Allow for organizations, classrooms and individuals to have their own small team. Pre-assigning birding teams before the day of the event helps. There will be new people showing up on the event day.


5. What to Bring & Wear - binoculars, scope, field guide, water, snacks. Dress for the weather, comfortable shoes, hat sunscreen, etc.  Have a source for additional binoculars for those who do not own them. Local Audubon Chapters, ecology and nature centers and schools often have a supply of binoculars.

6. Establish Birding Routes - Define good safe (1-2 hour) birding routes in multiple locations in advance with defined start and finish points. Use Google Maps. Half mile walking routes work. Diversify the habitats. A variety will enrich the types of birds discovered.  Encourage birding leaders to scout out their birding routes before the event day. If you back track on the same route only add new species not seen.


7. Suggested Age - 8-14   Note: Younger family members are invited to the brown bag lunch celebration at noon with adult supervision to enjoy the festivities.

8. Team Size -  Six kids per team or smaller works • parents are not considered team members. They are “quiet observers” not birders. Teams of kids need to work together in the field with their birding leaders.

9. Cost - (Optional) We charge $5 to cover printing, administrative costs, snacks & lunch supplies, rental, etc.

10. Morning of Event - Provide a “check in” table , name tags, group orientation, treats, water, optics,  scopes, disclaimers for safety and pictures, event fee, etc.  Distribute your official bird check list on a clip board with weather protection to each team leader.  Complete team assignment.  Kids can then report to “Binocular Boot Camp” for basic optics training and bird related conversations with their specific birding team leader. Each team should gives themselves a fun bird name once assembled.

11. Binocular Boot Camp - Set up distant targets for kids to practice basic skills after they sign in. (ex. keep you eyes fixed on the target and lift your optics to your eyes) Leaders might consider using a sign that kids can read back to them.  Then have the kids follow a live bird.  This can be offered to the entire group at once or by individual team leaders.


12. Where are the Birds? - Adult birding leaders should encourage the kids to discover and identify the birds on their own. Encourage the use of the bird field guides.  Have the kids learn to look in for areas - on the ground, mid story, in the upper canopies and the sky.

 1.  By 10:00AM - Be Out Birding!  

 2. Plan for Car Pooling -  Parents can shuttle teams of kids to and from the event home base to the predetermined start and finish points. (Use Google Maps to plan)


3. Kids will get tired if the hike is to long.  Ninety minutes works well.


4. Return by noon or a pre-determined time to start the Tabulation-lunch celebration.

5. Each team should have the identical bird list on a clip board. This helps the tabulation team at lunch.

6. Common Bird List - Should have 40-60 local winter species.  Leave some blanks for additions and surprises.
7. Team Recorders - Leaders should assign/rotate kids on the hike to experience “recording”, (√)  spotting and counting the species & total number of each bird seen.

8. Make note of bird species not on the list. (Note the time seen, direction and helpful details of any unique species.  Often several groups see the same formation of ducks, etc.

Teams will then arrive back around noon to have a fun celebration lunch in a large room pre-set for the tabulation. Have parents set up the tabulation/lunch room in advance. Consider a festive celebration theme for decorating the space.
 (Set a firm time to be back.)


1. Each team should sit together and compile their results with adult guidance and supervision. 

2. The report are presented after the kids eat and should include their team name, unique habitats, surprises, favorite species and over all results.

3. Youth Presentation - One youngster from each group will present the team summary, highlights, habitat and results to the assembled teams, friends and families.                                                                                  


4.  Most teams will average 20-40+ bird species depending on the time spent birding, the habitat and basic skills. 


5. Awards (?) - The highest team count or most unique species might receive special recognition (ex. The Rotary club offered a calculators for each child. Others donated small backpacks and field guides. Lots of possibilities).

6. Send us your results and we will compile a summary report to every group participating. Email  results to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

  Unique & Fun Additions & Potential

1. Invite a speaker from Audubon or one of the local Bird or Wildlife Rescue organizations to the lunch.
2. Offer displays of birdhouse/book or potentially live rescue birds such as owls and hawks.
3. Use a laptop to project a spreadsheet that matches your standardized bird list. This spreadsheet will have a column for each team that should be formatted for totaling the birds and the species for each team plus overall results. Leave spaces for adding new birds to this master list.
4. “Twitter” each other in the field. Invite the local press. Be sure and take pictures!
5.  Have the kids write an article with the "citizen science" results to your local newspapers.

VISIT THE BIRD EDUCATION NETWORK "BEN"

Council for Environmental Education

The Audubon CBC for Kids was established in 2007 in Sonoma Valley, Ca. by Tom Rusert and Darren Peterie, founders of Sonoma Birding. National Audubon and the Wilderness Society covered the event with national articles. They are also the compilers for the SV-CBC. Visit sonomabirding.org. Phone us at 707-939-8007 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it