Annually between December 14 and January 5, tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the world take part in an adventure that has become a holiday tradition. Families and students, birders and scientists, armed with binoculars, bird guides and checklists go out on an annual mission to count birds, often from dawn to dusk. For over one hundred years, the desire to both make a difference and to experience the beauty of our natural environment has driven dedicated people to get out in woods, fields and wetlands to celebrate the holidays. The National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is a citizen science effort, conducted by thousands of community members whose purpose is to collect data on bird populations across the continent while celebrating the holidays and enjoying the wonders of nature. The CBC in Bellingham has been held annually since 1967. So come celebrate and participate! For more information on the Whatcom CBC please go to: https://www.northcascadesaudubon.org/christmasbird-count. Participation in the Bellingham CBC is free. Results will be published by National Audubon in an online version of American Birds during the summer of 2020. You can find much more information on this event, as well as annual results and summaries, at http://netapp.audubon.org/CBCObservation/. If you are interested in participating in the Bellingham CBC please contact Doug Brown at bblackcat@comcast.net or 360-647-1657.