Christmas Bird Count for Kids

 

A park ranger helps children identify birds at the Clem Miller Environmental Education Center.

Cancelled until further notice

From 2011 to 2018, Point Reyes National Seashore, in collaboration with the Point Reyes National Seashore Association (PRNSA) and Sonoma Birding, invited families with children ages 3–18 to the Annual Point Reyes Christmas Bird Count for Kids (CBC4Kids) in early January of most years.

Families were encouraged to gather their fledglings for this half-day event celebrating nature, parks, education and outdoor family fun. The event brought together all the basic elements of birding to introduce the next generation of stewards to the importance of birds in the ecosystem and the annual tradition of bird counts. The park is an ideal location for birding with 490 bird species or 54% of all North American birds recorded here, which also makes it a perfect outdoor classroom for you and your brood to learn more about the fascinating world of birds. This event was held in honor and memory of Richard Stallcup, a mentor to a generation of birders.

Naturalists led groups in the field to identify and count birds. Youth ages 3–6 were invited to join our Budding Birders group with a range of activities and a bird discovery walk around the education center. Young Birders, ages 7–18, participated in the official count and ventured out to various locations within the park to identify and count birds. All teams recorded and shared their findings in a short report during the Tabulation Celebration.

History of the Christmas Bird Count for Kids

Every year for over a century, tens of thousands of volunteers take part in the National Audubon Society's Annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC), the longest-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations—and to help guide conservation action. This rigorous event often does not include young children, so, in an effort to train future generations in this nation-wide endeavor, the first CBC4Kids was launched in 2007 by Tom Rusert and Darren Peterie of Sonoma Birding. The CBC4Kids has since expanded across the United States, and even into Canada. Visit Sonoma Birding's website to learn more about how to start a CBC4Kids in your neighborhood. The CBC4Kids was first introduced to the National Park Service in 2011 at Point Reyes National Seashore. The event was in support of local and national initiatives, including Every Kid Outdoors, Let's Move Outside, and Healthy Parks Healthy People: Bay Area.

Top of Page