The National Audubon Society is set to launch its 116th annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) today, Dec. 14, and will through Jan. 5. The event, which is considered to be the world's longest running citizen science survey, provides scientists with important data on the trends of bird populations in North America.

Researchers and bird watchers from Canada and the United States are expected to take part in this year's CBC.

A total 68,753,007 birds from 2,106 different species were counted in last year's survey, according to data from the group EarthSky.

North Carolina is one of the top performing states during the 115th CBC after its 51 geographic groups posted the most tallies for 15 bird species of any of the participating states.

The red knot (Calidris canutus), an endangered bird endemic to coastal areas, was one of the species recorded in North Carolina last year. Around 1,600 individual red knots were counted along the state's coast, with more than 1,200 birds found living on Ocracoke Island.

Participants also reported of sightings of rare species including snowy owls (Bubo scandiacus) and a single Tennessee warbler (Oreothlypis peregrina) that was seen in Ontario, Canada.

Organizers of the Christmas Bird Count are looking forward to the survey this year because they anticipate more sightings of rare species since the weather in some areas has cleared as a result of the El Niño phenomenon.

Celina Starnes, a member of the Stanley Ecology Society in Canada and a regular participant of the CBC, explained that the annual event allows children to learn more about different species of birds and appreciate them better.

She said that the local Stanley Park makes a suitable place to carry out a bird count because of its location and diverse ecosystem.

"We'll invite the children out into the park, we have a little intro session, how to identify the most common birds," Starnes said.

"Then we get out, count as many as we can, come back in, serve some hot chocolate, and do a tally of all the different species we spotted."

Photo: USFWS Endangered Species | Flickr