It's that time of year again -- time to count birds! Keep your camera and binoculars at the ready and a notebook at hand to mark down every bird you see. This Sunday is the 55th annual Christmas Bird Count and the more eyes scanning the countryside the better to capture a one-day snapshot of what birds are wintering in Durham Region this year.

Centred in Oshawa, the 24-kilometre count circle takes in Whitby and Bowmanville harbours, all-important for lingering ducks and geese, herons and bald eagles. The circle arcs north to include Columbus, Solina and Hampton, plus the Enniskillen Conservation Area. All fields, woods and creek valleys must be scrutinized for all species and numbers of birds, from snow buntings to red-tailed hawks to crows. Even shopping malls are on the hit list, for ring-billed gulls, starlings and rock pigeons.

Participating in the count is a great excuse to get some fresh air and exercise in the busy time before the holidays. Feeder watchers are needed, too. Only you know how many cardinals, woodpeckers, chickadees, jays and finches are visiting your yard, and phoned-in reports help flesh out the tally, sometimes adding species that counters in the field might miss. Contact compiler Rayfield Pye, who can be reached at 905-436-7998.

The first-ever Christmas Bird Count took place on Dec. 25, 1900, for even then bird populations were declining. Frank Chapman, one of the founding members of the Audubon Society, proposed the count as an alternative to the traditional "side hunt," where men chose sides, then went out after Christmas dinner to see how many birds they could shoot, the winner being the one with the biggest heap. Twenty-five bird counts took place that year, including one in Toronto and one in New Brunswick.

These days, Christmas Counts take place throughout the western hemisphere, from Chile to the Canadian Arctic, Hawaii to the Caribbean. Last year one was held in Antarctica! The data collected, by Bird Studies Canada and the Audubon Society, provides a fascinating and valuable record of bird populations over more than a century.

I know there have been lots of hawks and owls around Durham Region this winter, judging from many exciting reports I've been getting from readers. And you never know what other rarity might show up.

Such as a phainopepla from desert country of the American Southwest and Mexico. One of these slim black cardinal look-a-likes has been hanging out in Brampton, feeding on multi-flora rose hips. Just about every birder I know has gone to see it, thrilled to have such an unlikely species on their Ontario list.

Who knows what will show up on Sunday's count? Be sure to check the Durham bird hotline (905-576-2738) next week to find out.

Nature queries: 905-725-2116 or mcarney@interlinks.net.