Woodstock Field Naturalists' Club

The first Christmas Bird Count was held on Christmas Day in 1900 in New York City. Now, about 60,000 people participate annually in over 2000 different Christmas Bird Counts held throughout North and South America. The data collected are used to analyze changes in bird numbers. For example, Audubon’s 2009 report explores the impact of climate change on bird populations across the continent. The Woodstock Christmas Bird Count has been held in mid-December every year since 1934. You can download an excel summary of our results below.

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The 93rd annual Woodstock Christmas Bird Count was held on December 20th, 2025. Thirty field observers and 15 feeder watchers together reported a record 54,544 birds of 68 species . Three high counts were recorded: Bald Eagle (23, previous high 15), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (2, previous high 1), Common Raven (8, previous high 3) and Brown Creeper (55, previous high 18)).  The weather on count day was excellent for birding with moderate winds, good visibility and no precipitation. Birds recorded on 10 or fewer counts included: Tundra Swan (5th count), Lesser Black-backed Gull (7th count), Short-eared Owl (9th count), Northern Saw-whet Owl (6th count), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (7th count), Peregrine Falcon (8th count), Common Raven (6th count), Yellow-rumped Warbler (6th count), Fox Sparrow (6th count) and Harris's Sparrow (3rd count).

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The bird of the count was the Harris's Sparrow that came to the Skevington feeders in Hickson all December. The photo below is of the Harris's Sparrow found on the 2025 count (taken by Jeff Skevington). Count data are stored by the Audubon Society in conjunction with Birds Canada. To explore the count data, go to the Audubon data portal.