Bird Counts
NHAS sponsors Spring and Christmas bird counts each year in a count circle centered in the area of Jordan Lake in Chatham County (count circle map). We encourage participants of all stripes—beginners and experts, young and old. If you have never counted before, we will team you up with more experienced people. Check this page for information about each of these counts, including:
- Contact information for signing up to participate and for submitting data
- Count checklists for electronic and hard copy submission of count data
- Rare bird report forms in the event that you find an unusual species
- Compiler’s notes from the most recent Spring and Christmas counts
- Historical data summarizing counts since 1977 when we began
In addition to the Jordan Lake Spring and Christmas bird counts, NHAS promotes the Mini Breeding Bird Surveys in Orange, Durham, and Chatham Counties. Click on the link for more information. There are many other counts in North and South Carolina. Follow these links for more information:
- http://chbc.carolinanature.com/countsched.html for other local NC counts
- http://www.carolinabirdclub.org/christmas/ for all counts in NC and SC
Jordan Lake Christmas Bird Count
The 2011-12 Jordan Lake Christmas Bird Count took place on Sunday, January 1, 2012.
Participation contact: Carol Williamson Chelette (cncbrdr@yahoo.com, 919-383-2364) is our count organizer. If you are interested in counting, please contact Carol. Participants must sign up with Carol.
Compiler contact: You may submit your count data to our compiler, Norm Budnitz (nbudnitz@gmail.com, 919-383-0553). The following forms may be sent to Norm either by email (Excel format) or as hard copies (PDF format, address on form). Note that the count forms have been formatted to print out on letter-sized paper:
- Christmas Count checklist in Excel spreadsheet format for electronic entry and submission
- Christmas Count checklist in PDF format for hard copy entry and submission
- Rare Bird form in Excel spreadsheet format for electronic entry and submission
- Rare Bird form in PDF format for hard copy entry and submission
- National Audubon's rare bird report form (different from the form used locally, but quite acceptable for the compiler)
Historical information:
- Cumulative data from Jordan Lake Christmas Bird counts (MS Excel format)
- Compiler’s notes, 2011-12 Christmas Bird Count (MS Word format)
- Count data, 2011-12 Christmas Bird Count (MS Excel format)
Jordan Lake Spring Bird Count
The 2012 Jordan Lake Spring Bird Count will take place on May 6, 2012. Participation contact: Carol Williamson Chelette (cncbrdr@yahoo.com, 919-383-2364) is our count organizer. If you are interested in counting, please contact Carol. Participants must sign up with Carol.
Compiler contact: You may submit your count data to our compiler, Norm Budnitz (nbudnitz@gmail.com, 919-383-0553). The following forms may be sent to Norm either by email (Excel format) or as hard copies (PDF format, address on form). Note that the count forms have been formatted to print out on letter-sized paper:
- Spring Count checklist in Excel spreadsheet format for electronic entry and submission
- Spring Count checklist in PDF format for hard copy entry and submission
- Rare Bird form in Excel spreadsheet format for electronic entry and submission
- Rare Bird form in PDF format for hard copy entry and submission
- National Audubon's rare bird report form (different from the form used locally, but quite acceptable for the compiler)
Historical information:
- Cumulative data from Jordan Lake Spring Bird counts (MS Excel format)
- Compiler’s notes: 2011 Spring Bird count (MS Word format)
- Count data: 2011 Spring Bird count (MS Excel format)
Last Updated: January 19, 2012

