By Shannon Donaldson
This winter marked the 126th year of Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count, making it the longest running citizen science project in history. Each year, observers around the world document bird species and total numbers observed within defined count areas on a date of their choosing, between December 14 and January 5. Birds found within the “count week,” which includes the three days before and after a specified count day, can also be included.
In northwest Montana, hardy observers turned out to document birds within eight established 15-mile diameter circle areas. Many hours of hiking, driving, counting, and compiling were invested by dedicated individuals to record an impressive number of bird species. A huge thanks to them for their efforts!
Upper Swan Valley Area
By Taylor Tewksbury
Swan Valley Connections (SVC) hosted the Upper Swan Valley Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, December 20, 2025. Weather conditions were constant throughout the day, with partly cloudy skies and calm to breezy wind conditions. Temperatures remained in the low-to-mid 30s. Most waterways in the valley were open, and the ground was largely free of snow, with some patchy areas of snow and ice in the shade.
Eleven volunteers recorded 18 species (216 individual birds) during SVC’s count day and one additional species during count week. To accomplish this, SVC birding parties walked 13.1 miles in 12.55 hours and covered 43.5 miles in 2.1 hours of driving.
Count day highlights included a Northern Shrike (1) and an American Goshawk (1). The most numerous species were Pine Siskin (83), Red Crossbill (35), and Common Raven (20).
Thank you to the amazing participants who supported the success of this event!