A great way to start the year

The Daily Inter Lake

Veteran and beginning birders alike are invited to participate in the Kalispell Christmas bird count, which takes place on Jan. 1.

The purpose of the count is to collect long-term trend data on the number and species of birds present within a defined geographic region at a particular time of year.

More than 40 people participated in last year's count.

"Interest in the Kalispell count has really blossomed," said Dan Casey with the American Bird Conservancy in Kalispell. "We had more people there last year than we've had in Bigfork in 31 years."

Participants in the count are divided into several groups; each group is then assigned a specific area within the overall count "district."

The groups, which typically include a mix of experienced and hopeful birders, work out their own arrangements as far as car-pooling. Then they travel throughout their assigned areas, listening and looking for birds and keeping track of the species and numbers.

Anyone who wants to take part in the count may contact Casey ahead of time at 756-2681 or 857-3143. Otherwise, just show up at Finnegan's restaurant, 660 E. Idaho St. in Kalispell, at 7:30 a.m. on New Year's morning.

People also have the opportunity to participate from home, without the travel.

If they have bird feeders, they can keep track of the New Year's birds that come to visit and report the numbers to Casey.

The only requirement is that they live within the Kalispell count district, which is centered on U.S. 93 and West Reserve.

It extends from Happy Valley in the north to Kila in the west, Rocky Cliff Drive on the south to Fair-Mont-Egan on the east.

"I'd just like them to call me in advance, so I have an idea how much feeder data to expect," Casey said.