By SALLIE SATTERTHWAITE
Staff Writer

This is a big year for people who love birds. The Christmas Bird Count, the annual census of North American birds sponsored jointly by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, hits a significant milestone this winter: its 100th anniversary.

The Peachtree City site is the only one on Atlanta's south side, and birders here have participated annually since 1981. This year's organizer is Brock Hutchins, who said he would like to hear from property owners willing to let strangers with binoculars wander about from dawn to dusk on Dec. 18.

“Our greatest need is a place to count birds and permission from landowners to use their property,” Brock said. Locations must fall within seven and one-half miles of Sharpsburg in eastern Coweta County.

Begun in 1900 as an effort to mobilize the early conservation movement, the CBC now contributes to a vast database that helps clarify how human activity has impacted the environment over the entire 20th Century.

According to Audubon sources, over 50,000 volunteers in all 50 states, every Canadian province, Central and South America, the Caribbean and several Pacific Islands (areas where North America's breeding birds winter) will count and record every bird species encountered over one calendar day during the Dec. 16, 1999–Jan. 3, 2000, period. As data is gathered, it will be entered into an on-line database — BirdSource —and available virtually instantaneously.

More than 1,700 teams of volunteers will fan out over their designated circles, 15 miles in diameter, to cover as much ground as possible within a 24-hour period.

“The Christmas Bird Count is the world's longest-running ornithological database,” said Cornell Lab of Ornithology Director John Fitzpatrick. “Global warming, weather trends and urban sprawl may be affecting birds with increasing impact. As a result, the CBC is now indispensable and BirdSource is the right tool for accessing vital information on the status and health of continental birds as well as the general state of the environment.”

The decline of several birds, including peregrine falcons, trumpeter swans, and bald eagles, was first documented by CBC observations, resulting in their being listed as endangered. The count also helped the U.S. government chart the rebound of these same species, which have either been removed or proposed for removal from the endangered species list.

Teams of avid birders from as far away as DeKalb and Cobb counties make the trek to Fayette County each year, where they start by “owling” before dawn and trek through woods, fields and wetlands until late afternoon, regardless of the weather. They pool their tallies over sandwiches and hot cider at the home of one local enthusiast before heading home. Many will do it all over again the next day in another circle further north.

Hutchins cautioned that this is not the time for novice birders to practice their skills, but said there is a role for feeder watchers who may observe backyard visitors from the comfort of their easy chairs.

To offer ingress to property, or for further information, Hutchins may be reached at brockhutchins@classic.msn.com or 770-461-5042. Information on BirdSource is at http://birdsource.cornell.edu/cbc/.