The Upper Swan Valley Christmas Bird Count (CBC) will take place on December 21st, 2024.

This will be the 125th year the National Audubon Society has sponsored this event, and you can contribute to this impressive dataset by counting all the birds you see or hear (by numbers and species within our count circle) on Saturday, December 21 from 12 am to 11:59 pm.

To tally our results, we will gather for a light potluck at the Swan Valley Connections office on Monday, December 23rd from 5 pm-6:30 pm, hosted by Taylor Tewksbury. A virtual Zoom option is also available (link below).

To sign up for this year’s count, please email Taylor at taylor@svconnections.org, or call our office (406-754-3137).

Optional Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87503954062?pwd=apTTJPwixy4pLXj4ovQ1cBEnn02sRh.1

Here are a few notes to keep in mind:

1. Please also report any new bird species seen three days before or after December 21. You just need new species (not numbers) for these “count week” birds. If you do get more “count week” birds after our Zoom tally, or if you are not available for the tally, please send your results by email to taylor@svconnections.org.

2. Please be prepared to report your hours, miles, weather, and means of birding (driving, skiing, walking, window-watching, etc.) while counting on December 23rd.

3. Bears will increasingly move towards hibernation over the next month, but right now the bears are still out, so bird feeders are not advised.