New York Birdwatchers Encouraged To Join Annual Bird Count

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York's Department of Environmental Conservation is hosting some events to help people participate in Audubon's 119th annual Christmas Bird Count.

The count is conducted every year between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5 by thousands of volunteers across the U.S., Canada and other countries in the Western Hemisphere. Participants must make arrangements in advance to tally birds on a given day within a specified 15-mile diameter circle.

Volunteers can find a local circle on Audubon's website . Or they can join one of DEC's events — at the Five Rivers Environmental Center near Albany on Jan. 1, or at Reinstein Woods in Cheektowaga on Jan. 5.

The citizen science project provides a snapshot of where birds are wintering from year-to-year.