As I grow older, I am learning that holidays can be painful reminders of what we once had and have lost — if we let them. I recently found myself pointlessly wading into this mental morass, despite the unfolding of a brisk, sunny day. I eventually shook it off, reminding myself that dwelling in the past is like diving for a lost wedding ring in the deepest part of the ocean. You’ll never be able to retrieve it, and you’ll waste a lot of energy trying.
So I decided the way out of my funk was to focus on the future and establish some new holiday traditions. As luck would have it, I stumbled upon a Christmas activity that I had known nothing about, but that has taken place every year since 1900! It is the National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count. Intrigued, I signed up to participate as soon as I read about it.
According to the Audubon Society’s website,[1] the count was the brainchild of a man named Frank Chapman. Chapman decided to come up with an alternative to the “side hunts” that were very popular at the time, whereby teams of hunters would compete on Christmas day to see who could shoot the most birds and other wildlife. The Audubon Society, a relatively new organization at the beginning of the 20th century, decided to popularize the idea of counting birds instead of hunting them, and has conducted this data-gathering event—which now spans all of the Americas—for the past 125 years.[2]
It was still pitch dark when I awoke at 6 am on December 21st, quickly bundling up to brave the predawn chill. The count was to begin shortly after the sun rose, when the birds would be most active. I joined a small group of birders on the grounds of the US Geological Survey’s Science Center in Leetown, WV, an expansive wooded property replete with the ponds and cold-water springs that are essential to the fish and aquatic research conducted there, and are also ideal for bird watching.
Most of the birders in our merry band were equipped with powerful binoculars and bird call identification apps on their phones, but I had only the zoom lens on my trusty Canon camera. I wanted not only to document the birds we spotted, but also to bring back my own memories of the entire experience (and to blog about it). I was not disappointed.
Our small group walked close to three miles that morning and manually recorded a total of 41 different types of birds (not numbers of birds—we saw at least 100 Canada geese alone). I got a chance to see a belted kingfisher for the first time, and to capture a photo of a yellow-bellied sapsucker. Mostly I wandered around filled with awe, marveling at the peaceful landscape, the blending of bird songs, and the detailed birding knowledge of the group leaders. I felt privileged to be in the company of fellow travelers who take seriously the importance of protecting all of God’s creatures.
As I drove back from Leetown, I reflected upon why this experience was so meaningful to me. Yes, it was a full immersion in a beautiful, natural setting, but I also appreciated the annual bird count’s premise that counting the living is much more important than counting the dead. For me it is the Christmas equivalent of counting your blessings instead of your losses and disappointments. It is a tradition I plan to embrace for years to come.
Did you establish any new holiday traditions this year? Did any involve nature? I would love to read your comments in the section below!
[1] https://www.audubon.org/community-science/christmas-bird-count/history-christmas-bird-count
[2] According to the National Audubon Society, over 62,000 volunteers participate in each year’s count, contributing to the longest-running database in ornithology.
Moxie Gardiner is a writer, gardener, and traveler who grew up on the West Side of Buffalo, NY. In a previous life she was a journalist, magazine editor, speech writer, and policy wonk. Back in the day she made three solo parachute jumps, flew in an F-15 fighter jet, and crawled through mud pits at the Jungle Operations Training Course in Panama. She now meditates, grows tomatoes, and enjoys a good online Zumba routine at home on winter evenings. Virgin Snow is her first novel, and she plans to publish Book Two in the trilogy in 2026.