Learn About Christmas Bird Counts in Virginia!

Join Wild Virginia and Jeff Wright on Tuesday, December 9th at 7PM for a webinar on Christmas Bird Counts!

Christmas Bird Counts have been a wonderful way to get the holiday spirit in Virginia since about 1904. They are fun, open to all, collegial, and provide important data on the status of birds in Virginia. Additionally, in the Commonwealth many participants claim they are Hokie Birds. These annual bird counts also are famous for introducing new participants to a life-long hobby - birding.

The 126th Christmas Bird Count will take place from December 14, 2025, to January 5, 2026. Though principally in the United States and Canada - the event occurs in over 20 countries. This annual citizen science project, organized by the National Audubon Society, involves volunteers counting birds in designated "count circles" to help monitor population changes. The Christmas Bird Count runs for three weeks, but each individual count takes place on a single day during this period.

Jeff Wright will delve into Christmas Bird counts and their importance to protecting the natural world. A core focus for his presentation will be on Virginia, challenges birds face, climate change, and how these Christmas Bird Counts provide important insights into species, habitats, and how we can preserve and protect our native biodiversity. From Hummingbirds to Pelicans these counts always find something surprising each winter.

He will also describe how to participate and how to contact a compiler who organizes a particular count. There are over 50 bird counts in Virginia each year as well as counts in all the states and the District of Columbia that border Virginia.

Learn why Christmas Bird Counts and so importnat and how you can get involved- you might just become a lifelong birder (if you're nto already!)

Jeff Wright is enthralled by protecting habitat and species and providing place-based experiences in nature. He likes to run toward nature.

Jeff is the President of the Friends of Dragon Run. The organization independently owns and manages over 1150 acres along the Dragon Run in counties of Virginia’s Middle Peninsula. He is also a Kayak Paddle Tour Guide. 

He is the National President and Chairman of the Board of the Old Growth Forest Network, a national organization dedicated to creating a network of forests, with one in each county where forests can grow, open for visitors and never logged, and a network of people inspired to protect them. www.oldgrowthforest.net 

Jeff is a Certified Virginia Master Naturalist in the Golden Circle, having over 7,000 volunteer hours and a past President of the Northern Neck Master Naturalists Chapter. He is the initiator, leader, and compiler for two Christmas Bird Counts, a participant in four other Christmas Bird Counts, the organizer of Winter Waterfowl Count that encompasses the Middle Peninsula and the Northern Neck of Virginia, as well as the five Butterfly Counts in Virginia. He is a volunteer preserve steward and leads hikes for The Nature Conservancy at preserves in Virginia.

He is a believer in the importance of advocacy in protecting the natural world and that the environment is part of the nation’s national security dialogue and a priority global challenge.  Jeff spent nearly five decades in government and industry applying (or un-applying!) tools and technologies for solving complex operational challenges.  Jeff has worked or traveled in over 50 countries.  Likewise, he had the privilege of living in different parts of this great country and exploring the wonders of nature and seeing the important role non-governmental organizations in protecting the environment and native biodiversity. Yes, he is a Bird Brain who Eats Like a Bird and a Tree Hugger who shares forests and swamps with total strangers. And he likes dragging people outdoors for bird counts in December.