An Ovenbird was the only new species added to the record list of 226 birds found during the San Diego Christmas Bird Count (photos by Paul Konrad). Phainopeplas were recorded during some CBCs conducted from west Texas to southern California.

To share some of the excitement created during the 125th Christmas Bird Count (CBC), we wanted to share a few excerpts from a number of preliminary CBC reports conducted by enthusiastic birders across North America. We tried to get something of a taste of the action by checking on a cross-section of locations to get an idea of some of the pre-official results we might find. The CBC is exemplary as a community science project, being the first of its kind that was created and expanded by the National Audubon Society in 1900 as a holiday tradition extraordinaire.

Massachusetts: On Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts, this year’s count marked the 65th CBC conducted on the island. Teams of birders fanned out in 13 groups to identify and count as many bird species as they could find throughout the day, beginning before sunrise. “This is the best part of the holidays as far as I’m concerned,” said Robert Culbert, who is the local Vineyard Gazette’s bird columnist and a veteran birder for 60 years. Overall, participants observed 127 species and counted 20,518 individual birds. Dana Bangs declared the Christmas Bird Count a success and added “Every day birding is one in the win column for me!”

California: On the opposite side of the United States, participants in the San Diego CBC annually find one of the highest species totals in America, and it looks like the SoCal birders broke last year’s record of 222 species, tallying 226 species this season! It’s not just the totals that count, it’s the impressive birds that participants found during the CBC, including Greater Roadrunners, Lucy’s Warblers, Tricolored Blackbirds, Sooty Shearwaters, and many more; while the rarest birds among them were a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, a Little Stint, and a Broad-billed Hummingbird.

Kentucky: In the midst of the Lower 48 States, it was the most common birds that attracted our attention, pretty common birds wintering in many southeast states such as Dark-eyed Juncos, White-throated Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, American Robins, Eastern Bluebirds, Blue Jays, American Crows, Snow Geese, and Canada Geese – all with more than 100 individuals sighted in the Paradise and Bernheim CBC areas.

Manitoba: A total of 23 feeder watchers and 3 driving groups participated in the Hodgson CBC in the Interlakes Region. Joanne Smith reported that while their count totals for individual birds and the number of species were down this year, the standouts were 4 Great Gray Owls, 4 American Robins, and 1 Red-winged Blackbird. It’s not unusual to have 1 or 2 owl species, but 4 of the same species is a record, as was the robin total. “We may have had 1 American Robin in the past but never 4, and I don’t recall ever having a Red-winged Blackbird in our count,” she added.

Idaho: The 34th Coeur d’Alene CBC was conducted with 26 birders in 12 teams afield while other birders reported sightings from their yards and feeders. Together they found an above average total of 78 species and more than 11,000 individual birds. Rare wintering birds for the area were a Tundra Swan, Iceland Gull, Golden Eagle, Clark’s Nutcracker, Pine Grosbeak, Barred Owl, Short-eared Owl, and Wilson’s Snipe, while the most abundant species included Canada Geese, Mallards, Red-breasted Mergansers, Red-tailed Hawks, Northern Flickers, Pileated Woodpeckers, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Song Sparrows, and American Crows.

Alaska: Lani Raymond, who provided a preliminary report, noted that the Homer CBC had more than 30 participants in the field while others helped as feeder watchers. The prelim count stood at 64 species, which is about average (the highest number of species since 2002 was 81 in 2019 and the lowest was 54 in 2013). Many exciting species were found including an Anna’s Hummingbird (!), Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Great Gray Owl, Northern Hawk Owl, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Lapland Longspur, Steller’s Eider, Northern Flicker, White-throated Sparrow, and Cedar Waxwing. Lani ended the note with: “It Was A Great Day To Bird! (That’s our motto and we’re sticking to it.)”

We hope you enjoyed this eclectic look into a few of the Christmas Bird Counts across North America, from sea to shining sea including mountains, forests, wetlands, and backyards. To learn more about CBCs and how you can get involved in the 2025 Christmas Bird Count, you can refer to one of our earlier articles at Participate in the 125th Christmas Bird Count | Birding Wire