Spend a day with the birds this holiday season by participating in the 106th National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count, an annual hemispheric early-winter bird census. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) celebrates its 35th year of participation in the Christmas Bird Count. This year’s Georgia Christmas Bird Counts take place December 16-January 1 across the state and will give biologists a snapshot of the health of both resident and migratory bird populations.

“The Christmas Bird Count has evolved into the world’s largest and longest running wildlife survey,” said Terry Johnson, WRD’s Nongame-Endangered Wildlife Program Manager. “Birds are indicators of the overall health of our environment and by looking at long-term population trends, biologists can get an idea of the success or failure of conservation efforts.”

This year marks the 106th anniversary of the Christmas Bird Count. Over 55,000 volunteers will take part in counts held in all 50 states, every Canadian province, parts of Central and South America, Bermuda, the West Indies, and Pacific Islands. During the counts, every individual bird seen during one calendar day (from midnight to midnight) within specific geographic areas for the Christmas Bird Count is tallied. Each geographic area is a circle 15 miles in diameter - approximately 177 square miles. Participants meet at the end of the day to compile their results. In 2004, there was a record of 2,022 individual circles, totaling over 70 million birds counted.

“The Christmas Bird Count is THE birding event of the year. It is a fun sporting event, social occasion, education experience and wildlife survey,” says Johnson. “Birders from all over the state gather to make this is one of the best examples of citizen science in action today. It provides an ideal opportunity for novice or beginning birders to learn bird watching skills from savvy experienced birders.”

The Christmas Bird Count began over 100 years ago when 27 conservationists in 25 localities, led by scientist and writer Frank Chapman, changed the course of ornithological history. On Christmas Day in 1900, the small group posed an alternative to the “side hunt,” a Christmas day activity in which teams competed to see who could shoot the most birds and small mammals.

Instead, Chapman proposed to identify, count, and record all the birds they saw, founding what is now considered to be the world’s most significant citizen-based conservation effort – and what has become a more than century-old institution.

This year’s counts will be held at the following 26 locations: (December 16) Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge and West Point Lake; (December 17) Albany, Athens, Augusta, Cumberland Island, Macon, Peachtree City and St. Catherines Island; (December 18) Atlanta-Marietta and Chattahoochee National Forest Songbird Management Area; (December 19); Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge and Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge/Rum Creek Wildlife Management Area; (December 20) Columbus; (December 24) Aiken, South Carolina (near Augusta); (December 26) Amicalola Falls; (December 27) Bainbridge/Lake Seminole; (December 30) Callaway, Dalton, Dublin and Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge; (December 31) Floyd County and Glynn County; (January 1) Savannah; (TBA) Lake Blackshear.

Most counts are open to the public and everyone is encouraged to come out and participate. However, some counts, such as Cumberland Island and St. Catherines Island, are by invitation only due to transportation logistics.

“One of the exciting things about this event is you can be a citizen scientist for a day and help conserve the birds that enrich your life,” said Johnson.

If you are interested in participating in one of the open counts, visit the Georgia Ornithological Society website at www.gos.org for the latest list of count dates, locations and contact information. There is a $5 fee to participate in the count for ages 19 and older. Ages 18 and under and bird feeder watchers are free.