Community Science
Bird populations are constantly changing. No scientist or team of scientists could possibly track the complicated patterns of movement of species around the world. That’s where community scientists - like you! - can help!
Our chapter supports several local Community Science Projects: the Silver City Bird Census Project, two local Christmas Bird Counts, Winter Raptor Survey, Cliff Swallow Monitoring Project, and the City Nature Challenge.
Read on to learn more… and please reach out if you’d like to participate!
Annual Bird Counts & Community Science Projects
The Silver City Bird Census Project: Year-round (see below)
Raptor Survey: January (dates set locally)
Great Backyard Bird Count: February
City Nature Challenge: April
Global Big Day: 2nd Saturday in May
NestWatch: Spring/Summer
The Big Sit! First weekend in October
October Big Day: 2nd Saturday in October
Project FeederWatch: 2nd Saturday in Nov; runs for 21 weeks
Christmas Bird Count: December (dates set locally)
Planning Committee: Maria Conklin, Alesia Hallmark, Yziah Jimenez, Bill Norris, Devyn Scott, and Madi Vasquez
Contact: silvercitybirdcensus@gmail.com
Video introducing project
The Silver City Bird Census Project: Birding With a Purpose
Jan 1, 2026
Planning for the Silver City Bird Census Project (“Birding With a Purpose”), featured in our November 2025 program, is underway! The goal of this project is to conduct monthly bird censuses in local bird hotspots to facilitate analysis of annual and long-term trends in bird populations in southwestern New Mexico. At a recent meeting of the project Planning Committee, and with guidance from our chapter Board, seven significant bird areas were selected to be censused once monthly beginning in January 2026: Bear Mountain Lodge, Cherry Creek Campground, City of Rocks State Park, Iron Bridge, Lake Roberts, Mangas Springs, and San Vicente Creek. At each of two widely separated points within each of these sites, stationary observers will record every bird heard and/or seen within a 15-minute census period between dawn and mid-morning. These data will be summarized and sent to the Planning Committee for data entry into a grand spreadsheet. Planning committee members are now at work preparing maps of the above seven sites that precisely identify the two census points within each.
The team is seeking volunteers of all ages and birding skill levels to conduct these censuses. Let them know of your interest by sending an e-mail to silvercitybirdcensus@gmail.com
NOTE: If you are a beginning birder and would like to participate, great! We will pair you with an experienced birder.
***Interested participants should plan to attend one of these bird census protocol trainings: Saturday, Jan 17, 2026 or Saturday, Jan 24, 2026 from 8:00 - 9:30 am at Bear Mountain Lodge.***
Let the fun and learning begin!
Christmas Bird Counts
The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) has been conducted for well over 100 years. The National Audubon Society collects data from this massive community science effort to count and record bird numbers every December. *Visit Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count Trends Viewer to explore population trends over time.*
Gila River Christmas Bird Count
2025 GILA RIVER CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT: DEC. 27 (DEC 28 RAIN DATE)
Space tends to be limited due to the need for permits on private land along the river. Observing and recording birds at feeders is another option to participate for those who feed birds in the Gila/Cliff area. If you are interested in participating in either option, please contact Linda Moore at raptors.linda@yahoo.com by Dec.1st.
Past Gila River Christmas Bird Counts
2024 Gila River CBC — Linda Moore, Compiler
2023 Gila River CBC — Linda Moore, Compiler
2022 Gila River CBC — Linda Moore, Compiler
2021 Gila River CBC — Linda Moore Compiler
Silver City Christmas Bird Count
2025 Silver City Bird Count & Potluck
This year’s SC Bird Count took place on Sunday, Dec 14. Stay tuned for a full CBC report!
Past Silver City Christmas Bird Counts
2024 Silver City CBC — John Gorey, Compiler
2023 Silver City CBC — John Gorey, Compiler
2022 Silver City CBC — John Gorey, Compiler
2021 Silver City CBC — John Gorey, Compiler
2020 Silver City CBC — John Gorey, Compiler
2016 - 17 Silver City CBC - Roland Shook, Compiler
Winter Raptor Survey
Illustration: Jackie Blurton
The survey is done in conjunction with the Hawk Migration Association of North America, and is a community science project focused on better understanding of the wintering population of raptors in North America. This survey is done by vehicle, and some of the routes are well over 100 miles. Typically the routes have established leaders and helpers, but there are often empty spaces in a vehicle for others to participate. The routes are surveyed on one of the three days, providing the opportunity to choose the best day weather-wise. Each route is standardized with no variation allowed.
2026 Winter Raptor Survey: Jan 17, 18, or 19 (weather-dependent)
The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend in January is the time designated for the Winter Raptor Survey in our area. Teams travel nine pre-determined routes, scanning for wintering raptors, recording species, GPS coordinates where seen, and details about the sighting. This information is provided to the Hawk Migration Association, an organization dedicated to raptor research.
Contact Linda Moore at raptors.linda@yahoo.com by December 15 if you are interested in participating.
Past Winter Raptor Counts
2025 Winter Raptor Count — Linda Moore, Compiler
2024 Winter Raptor Count — Linda Moore, Compiler
2023 Winter Raptor Count — Linda Moore, Compiler
2020 Winter Raptor Count — Linda Moore, Compiler
Cliff Swallow Monitoring
Photo: Carol Ann Fugagli
Our local Cliff Swallow monitoring project on the Western New Mexico University campus in Silver City documents the breeding success of these birds. For several years, trained volunteers have observed and recorded the breeding biology of returning Cliff Swallows to estimate the number of young fledged from nests located on campus buildings.
We encourage volunteers for this important project, and you don’t need to be an experienced birder to participate.
If you are interested in adopting a building to monitor either on or off campus, please contact Carol Ann Fugagli.
Cliff Swallow Monitoring Reports
2022 Report - Carol Ann Fugagli
2021 Report - Carol Ann Fugagli
City Nature Challenge
To celebrate Earth Day, Silver City Watershed Keepers organizes a City Nature Challenge (CNC) in Silver City and the broader Grant County area. The CNC happens annually, with community scientists around the world working to record as many species as possible during a four day span.
Why participate? It's critical for our community to know the wildlife that also call our watershed home. This event emphasizes the role that towns and cities play in affecting biodiversity and invites people of all ages and abilities to explore nature in their backyards, city parks, and beyond.
Observations made during the CNC will be publicly available on the iNaturalist database (inaturalist.org) and app*. These observations can be viewed by those in our community, then used in schools for biology lessons, by local governments and conservation organizations to monitor invasive species or ecosystem health, and by scientists to define species’ ranges, migration corridors, and inter-relationships.
How can Bird Alliance members get involved? We'll be looking for folks who know the birds in our region and/or for those willing to take photos or audio recordings of birds to post to iNaturalist.
This year’s dates are April 25-28, 2025. Please contact us if you’d like to take part!