Looking for Birders!
It’s time to join the 2026-27 counts! Reach out to the circle coordinators to join in on this year’s adventure! Whether you’re looking for an all-day expedition to the furthest reaches of the county, or a gentle morning strolling city streets, the four count circles of Santa Clara County have space for you!
San José - contact coordinator
Palo Alto - contact coordinator
Calero-Morgan Hill - contact coordinator
Mount Hamilton - registration full!
Results for our Christmas Bird Counts
The 2025-26 Christmas Bird Counts are over. To read about past counts, please check out the writeups below.
The CBC is an exciting annual event that joins adventure with community science. Pete Dunten has the information you need to find the count circle that’s right for you!
Nearly four hundred volunteers participated in this year’s annual Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs) sponsored by the Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance. This community-science project gets experienced and new birders canvassing our varied habitats to record the number and species of every bird in a single day. Combined, this data along with CBCs across the country and around the world, provide a snapshot of the health of our bird populations and an ability to see the changes over time. SCVBA sponsors the San Jose, Palo Alto, Calero-Morgan Hill and Mount Hamilton counts.
This winter more than 350 volunteers tallied 204,258 birds across 194 species, also identifying many subspecies and hybrid birds.
Across our four count circles, 362 volunteers were able to tally 196,476 individual birds spanning 196 species.
Across our four count circles, 362 volunteers were able to tally 232,699 individual birds spanning 198 species.
Across our four count circles, hundreds of volunteers were able to tally 218,529 individual birds spanning 192 species.
Despite COVID-19 restrictions and extensive wildfire damage, hundreds of volunteers were able to tally 192,503 individual birds spanning 192 species.
