Each December, thousands swap wrapping paper for binoculars and step outside for a different kind of holiday tradition: the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Instead of hunting for bargains, they hunt for birds—with pencils, rather than pellets. Started in 1900 by ornithologist Frank M. Chapman, the count offered a peaceful alternative to the Christmas "side hunts," where people competed to shoot the most animals. Chapman had a better idea: count them instead. Over a century later, that simple shift has grown into the world"s longest-running citizen-science project.