Birders Count Up Their Fine Feathered Friends : Population: Audubon Society volunteers ranged over hill and dale to take stock of the bird species in Orange County.

With the temperature about 40 degrees, Dick Kust walked along a dirt trail early Sunday morning, lighted his pipe and wondered aloud where all the birds had gone.

“I don’t see a thing moving this morning, which is amazing because this is such delicious habitat,” said Kust, who wore a heavy jacket and a white cowboy hat to fend off the cold. “Maybe they’re hiding somewhere, trying to stay warm.”

Kust, a business instructor at Cal State Fullerton, led six volunteers through various areas of Silverado Canyon from sunrise to sunset Sunday during the inland Orange County Christmas Bird Count, an all-volunteer effort sponsored by the Sea & Sage chapter of the National Audubon Society.

Kust and his group were among the more than 75 local residents who participated in this year’s event, one of more than 1,500 to take place in the 48 contiguous states. For the local count, the county was divided into sections with the volunteers, who ranged from beginning birders to experts, staying in one section throughout the day.

Those in Kust’s group, armed with binoculars and note pads, recorded sightings of more than 40 bird species in Silverado Canyon.

By identifying birds by species and keeping a running tally, the count has scientific value as it indicates such things as winter distribution of species and population trends. A separate count of the county’s coastal areas will take place on Jan. 3, with nationwide results being released in March.

After a slow, frostbitten start on Sunday, the temperature warmed, and so did the spirits of Kust and counting partner Sue Hoffman as they sighted their first bird--an American robin, which sat hunched on the branch of a barren tree.

Before long, the pair had seen dozens of acorn woodpeckers busily whacking away at numerous telephone poles in the canyon and depositing acorns into the freshly hewn holes.

Also spotted was a plain titmouse, relatively rare to the area; dozens of yellow-rumped warblers; numerous scrub jays; some American gull finches, and a pair of common ravens.

Still, Kust said he was a little disappointed at not seeing as many birds in the canyon as he had in previous years.

“I really had higher hopes,” said Kust, who has participated in nine counts. “We’ve done counts in the wind and rain. But today really was a perfect day; you couldn’t ask for more. If I were a bird, I would have loved it.”

Laguna Beach resident Jean Jenks, who said she was determined to find a red-naped sapsucker during this year’s count, hadn’t spotted any as lunchtime approached. But, she found consolation in spotting more than 60 Western bluebirds.

“I usually see one or two while I’m out here, but I’ve never seen such a huge flock like we did today,” she said, of the brilliantly colored species. “It was really something. They were all over the place.”

Newport Beach residents Shirley and Gail Green, who joined the other birders for a lunch break, were on their eighth annual bird count.

The couple reported seeing two California gnatcatchers, a bird being proposed as an endangered species.

Besides Silverado Canyon, the areas covered during Sunday’s count were: Irvine Park, Irvine Lake, upper Black Star Canyon, Modjeska Canyon, Harding Canyon, O’Neill Regional Park, parts of Mission Viejo and Lake Forest and their foothills, the foothill area near the old Lion Country Safari, Rattlesnake and Siphon reservoirs and nearby foothills, Peter’s Canyon and Lemon Heights.

Jerry Tolman, organizer of the Orange County counts, said it is part social event and part competition, something where “people have a good time.”

The more hard core, he said, “like to compete against other counting circles in the country and see how we compare.”

Tolman, who has been participating in the local count for more than 20 years and began looking for owls at 4 a.m. on Sunday, said the Audubon Christmas Bird Counts have gradually gained more importance through the years.