Sandpoint hosting annual Christmas Bird Count

The local Christmas Bird Count is a chance to get a sense of the many birds that make Bonner County their home.

This year's count will take place Dec. 14. Those interested will meet at Connie's Cafe, 323 Cedar St., at 7 a.m. before heading out for the count at 7:30 a.m.

Participants will be divided into four groups which will then spend the day bird watching around Sandpoint and vicinity, organizer Rich Del Carlo said.

"We tally all birds we see and hear, meeting back at the end of the day for socializing and recapping the day," Del Carlo said.

Nationally, the annual event can trace its start to the Christmas "Side Hunt" before the turn of the 20th century, according to the Audubon Society website. After choosing sides, participants would head out and whoever brought back the most quarry would be declared the winner.

In response, ornithologist Frank M. Chapman proposed a different tradition — a Christmas "bird census" to count the nation's birds instead of hunting them.

From that first census of 25 bird counts, the Christmas Bird Count has grown to a national event, including the local Sandpoint Christmas Bird Count.

Audubon Society officials said on the organization's website that the premise of the count is simple: each year volunteers throughout the Americas collect information on the continent's birds between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5. Information collected in count is used to assess the health of bird populations and guide conservation action.

"The data collected by observers over the past century allow Audubon researchers, conservation biologists, wildlife agencies and other interested individuals to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America," Audubon Society officials said on the website. "When combined with other surveys such as the Breeding Bird Survey, it provides a picture of how the continent's bird populations have changed in time and space over the past hundred years."

To take part in the free Sandpoint event, contact Rich Del Carlo 208-290-1405 to sign up.