The Rowyn Balman Metro Phoenix Christmas Bird Count

About Us

Phoenix Metro CBC In Memory Of Rowyn

The Phoenix Metro CBC is run as a collaborative effort between Educating Children Outdoors, Nerdy For Birdies, Desert Rivers Audubon and Maricopa County Parks Master Naturalists. We continue this count in honor of Rowyn Balman who passed away on 11/7/22 at the age of 15 along with his sister Gwyn Balman age 16. Rowyn is the reason this count was created.

After watching a documentary about the CBC, Ninja Birder (Rowyn) was inspired to get involved. He reached out to CBC circles around the Phoenix area, but was unfortunately told that they didn't allow youth participation or that they weren't accepting participants. Rowyn also noticed that the urban neighborhoods in the Phoenix area were excluded from the counts. So with the help of his mom he reached out to Audubon to propose a new circle be added for Phoenix Metro. In 2019 he and his mom did a trial run and in 2020 the first CBC for Phoenix Metro was held, and it was a huge success. Rowyn also coined the hashtag #frenchbirdsmatter. French fry birds are what birders call the common birds that hang around populated areas where there are shopping centers and restaurants.

Believe it or not, Phoenix and the surrounding cities had not been counted since the early 1900's.

We are always looking for participants to help us make sure the urban birds are counted in this important survey. And we have always and will always have an emphasis on getting more youth and new birders to participate. The 15 mile CBC circle includes many of the key birding hot spots for Phoenix Metro.

We will be offering zoom trainings before the official count day, plus a Q and A day. Once you complete the registration form we will send you more information about this years count and how to attend a training.

What is a Christmas Bird Count?

The nation's longest-running community science bird project fuels Audubon's work throughout the year.

Each November, birders interested in participating in the CBC can sign up and join in through the Audubon website. From December 14 through January 5 each year tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas brave snow, wind, or rain, and take part in the effort. Audubon and other organizations use data collected in this long-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations, and to help guide conservation action

Learn more and find a count near you