Participate

​Everyone can  participate,  however  there is a specific
​methodology to follow.

Counted with us before?

• Prior participants are already registered and will receive   an emailed notice before the Count. You remain on our participant list  from year to year unless you unsubscribe, or if you are inactive for 3 consecutive years.
• Returning Edmonton participants may    update their zone or contact info through our emailed Save The Date  notice.
• If you no longer wish to participate, just unsubscribe through any    emailed notice and you'll be permanently removed from our list.  You can sign up again  if you change your mind.

New to the Edmonton, Alberta Count?

Citizen science  involves guidelines to create good research data.

Option 1 "Feeder Watcher"  

• If your home is within the  boundaries of the     Count  Circle, then you can stay home and  keep   a  list of species and  number of birds that visit your  yard    for  a  couple of hours on Count day. 
• New feeder watchers  use    the form found below to      register  prior to the count  day.
• Please review  our    How to Count    page.
• Send in your numbers    on Count day using the online form.

​Option 2  "Bush  Beater"  

• Every zone has teams of  "Bush  Beaters".  Your zone captain organizes the groups   to cover designated areas on foot or by vehicle, keeping a list   of species and numbers of birds seen. 
• If you are a beginning  birder  we hope to have you join a group that includes   at least one experienced  birdwatcher. 
• ​Not all zones   have room for additional bush beaters.  We recommend  signing up well in advance, prior to December 1st is best.
• Please review  our    How to Count    page.
• Team data will be  given to    the zone captain    according to their preference, most use the website form.  

New  participants:   
​​How to register   and use this form.

First, use the Zone Maps to  locate your  zone. 

• Feeder Watchers must be in a recognised zone.    If your home is not within the Count circle, scroll to the bottom of this    page for more information.    
• Bush Beaters    enter  only your preferred    zone number into the  zone  box on the form. Any additional zone options  that work for you may be added in the remarks  section.   Note in remarks if you're a beginner    birder.

Once you complete the Participate form, filling all the required fields, remember to click Subscribe*.   Thank you will appear once you've    registered successfully. 
Note:
Each zone  is organized by  a  Zone Captain.  Your zone captain may contact you via email or phone. 

​* Approx.   8    emails from event organizers will be    sent to you per year. We do not  sell,  share, rent or trade   your email address, we use it only to communicate about the Bird Count.  

SAFETY GUIDELINES
The Christmas Bird Count should be a fun and enjoyable experience, but safety should always come first. Be prepared for winter conditions! Conducting your count  in a safe manner is your personal responsibility, and if you are ever concerned about your safety, do not survey.

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Many folks live outside the Christmas Count circle, here's how they can participate:

• If you have family or a friend  who lives within the circle, enjoy a visit and count  yard birds there.  Use the participate form to register at that location if they are not already registered.
• Register as a bush beater in a zone of your choice and join a walking group. 
• Join a nearby    count outside the city,  see the Home page.

There are other citizen science projects that don't use the Christmas Count circle.   
The Edmonton Nature Club also  sponsors a May Bird Count. That Count area is much larger!

Additional  projects  (Not  Edmonton Nature Club events. )  

• Project FeederWatch      requires a Birds Canada membership (you get a membership with a donation of any amount)    and a minimum feeder bird count  for 2 consecutive days.  The Project FeederWatch season always begins the second Saturday in November and runs for 21 weeks. You can count 2 consecutive  days in only one week (for example the day of the Edmonton Christmas Bird Count plus the day before or after) or 2 days in as many as all the 21 weeks.    
• The Great Backyard Bird Count  takes place in February.   Participating is free, easy, fun to do alone, or with others, and can be done anywhere you find birds. Simply   watch birds for 15 minutes or more, at least once over the designated four days in February  ,  and report   to eBird    what you see.    Details  on how to use eBird are included through the project link.​

Blue Jay by Gerald Romanchuk

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