The Bow Valley Naturalists have posted an event listing on their website inviting volunteers to the 2025 Banff–Canmore Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, December 20, 2025, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the post‑count potluck and compilation (starting at 5:30 p.m.) set for 101 Bear Street in Banff. The listing is the group’s public notice that it is recruiting volunteers and sorting logistics for the annual citizen‑science survey.
The Christmas Bird Count, administered in Canada by Birds Canada in partnership with the U.S. National Audubon Society, is a winter‑time, volunteer‑driven census that has been running since 1900. Local results from the Banff–Canmore circle are submitted to national organizers and become part of a continent‑wide long‑term record used by researchers and conservation planners.
The Banff–Canmore count covers a 24‑kilometre‑diameter circle centred on the Bow River below Mount Rundle, stretching west to Vermilion Lakes and east toward the Trans‑Canada/1A interchange around Canmore. The national compiler roster for the 125th CBC season lists Heather Dempsey and Ethan Denton as compilers for the Banff–Canmore circle; the BVN event page lists Dempsey as the Banff contact and Denton as the Canmore contact.
The Bow Valley Naturalists note on their event page: ‘The annual Christmas Bird Count is a citizen science project that operates through the participation and commitment of individuals in the Bow Valley. The 2025 Count will be held on Saturday, December 20th. Let us know if you would like to join us. There will be the traditional potluck dinner and count compilation afterwards (starting at 5:30 pm) at 101 Bear Street – above the Banff Public Library. Hope you can join us, it’s always a great day!’ — Bow Valley Naturalists event page.
Volunteers head out in teams on the designated day to walk or drive assigned routes, tally every species they can find, and report totals back to local compilers who forward the data to Birds Canada and Audubon. Counts take place on a single day within the official window from December 14 to January 5 each season.
The Banff–Canmore CBC has been organized by the Bow Valley Naturalists since 1975, creating a multi‑decade snapshot of winter bird life in a sensitive mountain ecosystem. That long record helps spot trends such as range shifts or declines that are of interest to Parks Canada, municipal planners and conservation groups.
Local news coverage shows participation and species totals can vary year to year. For example, local reporting on the Dec. 14, 2024 count (Rocky Mountain Outlook) reported roughly 100 participants and about 42 species; that article also quoted Canmore coordinator Ethan Denton explaining that volunteers ‘go out and try to get a snapshot of local populations at that time of year’ and submit results through regional coordinators.
The BVN event page includes sign‑up details and local contact information for anyone interested in joining the count, and the compilation potluck is open to participants. The listing therefore serves as a public notice that the Bow Valley Naturalists are preparing to gather another year of local bird data this winter.
