A gallery inside the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History is currently showing A Day with the Birds: Community Science & the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. It covers more than 125 years of the count with Oklahoma's native birds, specimens from the museum's collections, historic photographs and interactive displays. About 100 feet east of the main entrance is a staff door that leads to the museum's seminar room. That's where the Cleveland County Audubon Society meets, and on Thursday, December 10, at 7 p.m., the society will use the room to plan Norman's own Christmas Bird Count.
So the exhibit about the count and the meeting that organizes it share an address. The count itself happens on Sunday, January 3, across Norman. Visitors who walk through the exhibit before it closes on November 29 have about five weeks before they can contribute data to the count it describes.
The count the exhibit is about
The Christmas Bird Count has run every year since 1900. The museum's exhibit follows it from a simple yearly tradition to one of North America's most important wildlife monitoring programs, and it explains how community scientists have tracked bird populations, migration patterns and environmental change.
The National Audubon Society sets the count window every year from December 14 to January 5. Participation is free and open to birders at every experience level. Volunteers take one of two roles:
- Field counters cover an assigned area in daylight, alone or in a group.
- Feeder counters stay in one place and record every bird they see or hear at a feeder inside the count circle.
Some circles also run night surveys. Every count activity has to happen within the 24 hours of that circle's count day, and volunteers find their circle and register through Audubon's Circle Finder.
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation has written about Norman's count circle and named Mark Howery as its compiler. Howery is also president of the Cleveland County Audubon Society, and the society's current schedule directs count-day coordination to him. Someone who has kept a feeder in the backyard for years already has the main skill the feeder role needs.
November at the museum, one program at a time
Through the rest of November, the Sam Noble Museum's calendar is full of bird programs. Each one is a small, separate way in, and the dates are close together.
- Bird Watching walk, Saturday, November 7, 7:30 to 10 a.m. The walk starts with native bird specimens and then moves to a guided walk at a local Norman park, focused on identifying birds by sight and sound. Binoculars are provided, and participants drive themselves to the park. It's open to adults and to ages 12 to 17 with a registered adult. Registration closes Friday, November 6.
- Little Scientists: Brilliant Birds, Tuesday, November 10, 9:30 to 11 a.m. A session for ages 3 to 5 with an adult, with stories, specimens and activities about feathers, nests and calls. Registration also closes November 6.
- Bird evolution lecture, Tuesday, November 17, noon to 1 p.m. A free public lecture by the museum's bird curator, Andre Moncrieff. Registration is encouraged.
A Day with the Birds closes on Sunday, November 29.
Saturday, November 7, has three options at once
The first Saturday after this post publishes is a busy one for Norman's outdoor science calendar. The museum's bird walk runs that morning. The same day, the Cleveland County Audubon Society takes its annual day trip to Great Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge during fall migration. The carpool leaves Norman early, birds the refuge all morning, has lunch together in nearby Cherokee, birds again in the afternoon and gets back in the late afternoon or evening. The society expects thousands of Sandhill Cranes and, in most years, an endangered Whooping Crane or two. Departure time hasn't been announced, and the society asks people to RSVP to Howery so it can plan the carpool. Bring your own binoculars, snacks, layers and money for lunch.
VisitNorman's 2026 calendar also puts the National Weather Festival at the National Weather Center on November 7. If you want to do the museum walk and the festival, the walk ends at 10 a.m., which leaves the rest of the day free.
From the planning meeting to the tally party
The society meets from September through May and takes the summer off. It has existed in some form since the 1920s. Its October 15 meeting was Howery's talk on attracting backyard birds to a home garden, which fits well with feeder counting. According to the schedule, everyone is welcome at every activity, and an RSVP is only needed when an event says so.
| Date | What happens | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, December 10, 7 p.m. | Meeting and Christmas Bird Count planning; program to be announced | Sam Noble Museum seminar room |
| Monday, December 14 | Audubon's yearly count window opens | Nationwide |
| Sunday, January 3 | Norman Christmas Bird Count, all day | The Norman count circle |
| Sunday, January 3, 6:30 p.m. | Tally party; dinner provided, desserts welcome | Riverchase neighborhood clubhouse, 1125 Riviera Dr. |
| Tuesday, January 5 | Audubon's yearly count window closes | Nationwide |
The society calls the tally party its biggest gathering of the year. Counters compare species lists after a full day in the field or at the feeder. The schedule asks people to "bring yourself, some CBC spirit, and your bird list!" If you can't make the December 10 meeting, the society says to contact Howery directly to coordinate your count-day assignment. The schedule notes that dates may change, so check the society's website as December gets closer.
Lake Thunderbird and the eagle season
Count day falls in the middle of Norman's best stretch for bald eagles. TravelOK lists Lake Thunderbird State Park as a site on a bald eagle migration corridor, with eagles roosting there from December through February. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation says sightings start rising as early as November and peak in January and February. It recommends warm, neutral-colored clothing, binoculars, a camera and a field guide.
The Cleveland County Audubon Society already knows the park. Its October 10 field trip was a walk of about a mile on the paved South Sentinel trail at Lake Thunderbird. For a staffed stop, Discovery Cove Nature Center is at 1201 Clear Bay Ave. inside the park. It's listed as open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and VisitNorman notes that hours can change by season.
Lake Thunderbird is one of the Oklahoma state parks in the state's parking-pass program. If you plan to visit several times between now and February, the state's annual pass catalog lists $60 for in-state annual passes and $75 for out-of-state ones.
The Sooner Lake trip in Stillwater on Saturday, February 13, falls at the end of that peak season. The society hasn't announced departure details yet.
At Duncan Gals Real Estate, we enjoy the parts of Norman you only find out about by showing up, like a museum seminar room or a clubhouse tally party on a Sunday night in January. If you're hosting family this winter and want suggestions for Norman outings beyond game day, or if your own plans start to involve a move, we'd be glad to help. Schedule a Complimentary Concierge Consultation.