Christmas is around the corner — which means it's time to count birds

The Christmas Bird Count returns to Sault Ste. Marie for the 68th time on Dec. 16.

Sault Naturalists hope to recruit bird counters from both the Ontario and Michigan sides of the St. Marys River to participate, particularly those with backyard bird feeders.

Collected information is "used daily by conservation biologists and naturalists to assess the population trends and distribution of birds throughout North America," says a news release from Sault Naturalists.

Full text of the release follows:

The Sault Ste. Marie Bird Count is back for another year! On Dec. 16, 2023, you can help count birds to help us better understand local bird populations. This will be the 68th time this annual tradition has taken place here in Sault Ste. Marie.

The count circle has a 12km radius, centred at the US/Canada border on the International Bridge, so it encompasses both the Ontario and Michigan cities.

This year, we are searching for more feeder watchers to participate. If you have bird feeders set up in your yard and you have at least a few minutes to spare to count birds throughout the day, please sign up!

Started in 1900, the Christmas Bird Count is North America's longest-running citizen science project. Counts happen in over 2,000 localities throughout the Western Hemisphere. The information collected by thousands of volunteer participants forms one of the world's largest sets of wildlife survey data. The results are used daily by conservation biologists and naturalists to assess the population trends and distribution of birds throughout North America.

Last year, 58 different bird species were recorded, with a total of 8,677 individual birds.

To sign up to participate or to learn more, please contact Carter Dorscht at carterdorscht@gmail.com or 705-257-5199.