Birding by the numbers

During the National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count, you’ll have more than 12 days to find two turtledoves and a partridge in a pear tree. The most comprehensive bird survey in the Western Hemisphere starts today and lasts until Jan. 5, and during that time thousands of volunteers throughout North America will tally the numbers and types of birds they find. “This is the oldest and largest citizen-science project around,” said Jess Morton of the group’s Palos Verdes-South Bay chapter. The event began in 1900 as an alternative to the Christmas “side hunt,” in which teams of hunters -- often armed with brand-new rifles found under the tree -- would compete to bag the most birds. A Christmas Day tradition was born: counting winter populations of birds instead of killing them. That first year, 27 birders conducted 25 counts from Toronto to Pacific Grove, Calif., and identified 90 species. This year more than 50,000 volunteers are expected to take part in up to 2,000 counts (see the guide above for local listings). The results track the status and distribution of bird species. As part of his count last year, Morton identified the federally protected California gnatcatcher and a Nazca booby, a species usually found near tropical oceans. “You don’t have to be an expert to take part,” Morton said. To view bird count results from 1900 to the present, go to www.audubon.org/bird/cbc.

-- Veronique de Turenne