We depart from our traditional format this week, in part because outdoor activities are sparse the weekend before Christmas, in part because it’s time for the Christmas Bird Count, one of the biggest — and the longest running — citizen science efforts around.

Back in the late 1800s, a popular Christmas activity was the “Side Hunt,” in which hunters would choose sides, then head out and see which side could shoot the most birds. Frank M. Chapman, an early officer in the then-fledgling Audubon Society, liked the idea of going out and looking for birds on Christmas, he just wasn’t keen on shooting them. In 1900, he suggested to his friends that they go out and count the birds instead. Thus was born the Christmas Bird Census, which has since morphed into the Christmas Bird Count.

Today, tens of thousands of volunteers fan out across North America over a three-week period (Dec. 14 through Jan. 5) to count birds. According to Audubon, “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. 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.”

The count is the single most important effort in keeping tabs on the health of our bird population. And it’s all done by volunteers, some with extensive birding experience, others who don’t know and canary from a cockatoo. At least, at the beginning of the day.

One of the great things about the count for the birding curious is that it’s a good opportunity to get out in the field with experienced birders and learn, by sight and sound, the local bird population. This year, according to the Carolina Bird Club, there are 60 Christmas Bird Counts in North and South Carolina.

For each count, birders typically gather at sunup and are assigned to different spots within a circle 15 miles in diameter. The goal is to spend the entire day tallying birds, by species, by total number. And again, if you don’t know a budgie from a buzzard, worry not. “If you are a beginning birder,” assures Audubon, “you will be able to join a group that includes at least one experienced birdwatcher.”

Of the 60 CBCs in the Carolinas, nine have already occurred, and 19 are today through Sunday. Counts in North Carolina, with who to contact for details, are:

Today

Rocky Mount

Saturday

• Gastonia: Steve Tracy, 704.853.0654
• Greensboro: Elizabeth Link, 336.273.4672
• Kitty Hawk: Jeff Lewis, 252.216.6336
• Raleigh: John Connors, 919.733.7450, x602
• Winston-Salem: Ron Morris, 336.725.1254

Sunday

• Catawba Valley, Dwayne Martin, Lori Owenby, 828.234.6041, 828.312.4834
• Durham, Jacob Socolar, Jeff Pippen, 919.636.0326
• Holly Shelter & Lea-Hutaff, Carson Wood, 910.859.9425
• Morehead City, John Fussell, jfuss@clis.com
• Southern Lake Norman, Taylor Piephoff, 704.621.0336
• Southern Pines, Susan Campbell, 910.695.0651

For more information on these counts and on the remaining counts, visit the CBC Christmas Bird Count web page, here.

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