over a Century of Counts
Bronx Westchester Christmas Bird Count 1924-2025
The Bronx Westchester Christmas Bird Count has been taking place since the Bronx County Bird Club first strategized their count plan in 1924 - only 24 years after the first Christmas Count was started by Frank M. Chapman.
Results of the 2025 count
102nd Bronx-Westchester Christmas Bird Count
Sunday, December 28, 2025
The 102nd Bronx-Westchester Christmas Bird Count found 115 species and 41801 individuals on Sunday, December 28, 2025. 138 participants braved cooler than average temperatures with a low of 18 F and a high of only 33 F. Winds varied from 0 to 12 mph starting from the N, changing to SSW. Still water froze two days before the count, moving water was open.
Highlights were:
A female Harlequinn Duck off Edgewater Point, Mamaroneck (private property). This is new to the count and brings the 102-year cumulative total to 237species.
Three Greater White-fronted Goose, 8th count record, 2 in Van Cortlandt, one at Edith G. Read Preserve
A Cackling Goose on Sprain Reservoir in Yonkers
A few Black and Surf Scoters
A Northern Saw-whet Owl in Kings Point
Red-headed Woodpecker at Marshlands Conservancy
A Lapland Longspur on the Pelham Bay Landfill (restricted access)
A Savannah (Ipswich Sparrow) also on the Pelham Bay Landfill (restricted access)
Lincoln's Sparrow in Starlight Park along the Bronx River in the Bronx
An American Pipit in Hastings-on-Hudson
Two Orange-crowned Warbles, one in Rye and the other in the Soundview section of East Bronx
New High Counts for Canada Goose, Rock Pigeon, Cooper's Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Eastern Screech-Owl, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and Peregrine Falcon.
Other Highs:
38-year high for Savannah Sparrow and a 67-year low for Black-capped Chickadee
Count week birds included Short-eared Owl and White-winged Scoter.
Misses included Northern Pintail, Canvasback, Pied-billed Grebe, Virginia rail and American Coot.
Below is a full breakdown of the numbers. Thanks to all who helped on the count.
NEXT YEAR’s COUNT is SUNDAY, December 27, 2026
Michael Bochnik, BWCBC Compiler
results of prior years
Past compiler write-ups and results are available HERE.
The National Audubon Society maintains a database of all Christmas Bird Counts, starting with the very first. This is a massive citizen science undertaking which provides important information about the status of bird populations.
You can find results of previous Bronx-Westchester Christmas Bird Counts by accessing the database maintained by National Audubon. You will need to enter our count code: NYBC.
all the birds ever
This is a downloadable MS Excel file of all bird seen on all Bronx Westchester Christmas Bird Counts, thanks to Michael Bochnik’s superb record keeping
EXCEL Spread Sheet of all birds 1924-2024
Past Compiler Write-Ups 1988-2024
More about Christmas Bird Counts on National Audubon’s web site