Christmas Bird Count
2024 Christmas Bird Count
The 2024 Bird Count was held on Saturday, December 14th. The Brattleboro count is part of the longest running community science project in the world. Birders all over the world were out documenting the status of bird populations during the count window, held this year between December 14 and January 5. The Brattleboro circle is below, and can also be viewed online here: CBC Circles
The Brattleboro count team found 4,102 birds and totaled 53 species. Notable finds included two species new to the Brattleboro count list. A Bullock's Oriole that has been frequenting a bird feeder in Brattleboro for the past couple of weeks was observed during count day. This Western visitor is believed to be the first record for Vermont. Birders also heard two calling marsh wrens at the Hinsdale setbacks. Marsh wrens are summer breeders here who migrate south in thet winter and this is the first count they've been found on.
This year's effort was conducted by 32 birders in the field who logged almost 35 hours of walking, covering 27 miles on foot and another 24 hours of driving totaling 239 miles. An additional 18 people conducted feeder counts, spending over 33 hours watching bird feeders and counting the birds.
The results from this count will be used by researchers to understand bird distributions and changes to population trends. While more modern and rigorous research methods exits, none have results that date back more than a century. This unique feature enables long term comparisons. Thank you to everyone who helped with the count this year! The full spreadsheet of results is below.
Click on the spreadsheet to the right to view the results from the 2024 count:

Top: Red Crossbill photographed in Marlboro by Nancy Tognan
Bottom: Birders enjoy the early morning sunshine along the West River on count day. Photo by Mary Ross
2023 Christmas Bird Count Summary
The 2023 Bird Count took place under unseasonably warm and dry weather. Birders were treated to mild temperatures and easy travel throughout the count circle. Rivers and ponds were free from ice, which presented good opportunities for viewing waterbirds. In all, 37 participants took part in one of our seven area field counts, with an additional 11 birders conducted feeder counts from their homes. Participants drove nearly 250 miles and walked 34 miles to cover our annual survey routes. Our teams found a total of 4,027 individual birds, up roughly 2% from last year. We observed 57 total species this year, the same total as in 2022. This was consistent with our average over the past 20 years.
Interesting finds included 2 Great Blue Herons along the West River, 3 Black Vultures soaring over West Brattleboro (only the second time this species has been found) and 2 Red-shouldered hawks. An American Pipit observed in Brattleboro was a new addition to our count circle list (the 126th species observed in the history of the count). The 27 Red Crossbills found on the count was a new high total for this species on the Brattleboro count. Finally, a screech owl heard during early morning owling represented only the 3rd detection of this species in count history.
Notable absences included Ruffed Grouse, Snow Bunting, and Evening Grosbeak. Wild turkey was absent on count day but found during the count week.
The full results and comparisons to recent years can be viewed by clicking on the spreadsheet bleow:
Please click on the spreadsheet to the right in order to view the full results and comparisons with recent years.
