Birders will take to Jasper National Park on Dec. 21 as part of the annual Christmas bird count.

The old tradition for men to go out and shoot as many birds as they could over Christmas changed to a bird count more than a century ago, after women protested the event by going out and watching birds instead. 

The bird-counting tradition caught on in Jasper in the 1940s, according to local enthusiast and Christmas count organizer Gordon Ruddy, and involved two friends going for an informal stroll. These days, the birders follow formal rules in recording the species they spot, which are collected by a national compiler. 

“It would blow your socks off,” Ruddy said, of the amount of information collected from bird-counting locations across the continent. Audubon, an American organization of community-based nature centres, compiles the data.

This Sunday in Jasper, volunteers are asked to meet at the lower boardroom of the train station at 9 a.m., when they’ll divide into groups and assigned locations within a radius that encompasses the town and several kilometres in each direction.

“They’ll be looking for birds, as many varieties as they can,” said Anne Williams, who works with Ruddy to organize the event. 

The Christmas bird count takes place all over North America, and local areas have a four-week window during which they can schedule the event as they choose, which is done so the counts reflect native birds. At this time of year, birds are where they’re staying for the winter, Ruddy said. 

Volunteers are given lists of bird varieties, and simply record each type they see. Much effort goes into spreading out the volunteers’ efforts. For instance, Williams said, there is a bird in the park, a white-tailed ptarmigan, that lives at the tree-line and above. To get a record of that type of bird, someone would have to hike or ski 10 km up signal mountain.

“It’s hard to entice somebody to go,” Williams said. Recent frosty temperatures may make the day more difficult as well. In 2005, the temperature was –26C, and 529 birds were counted. When the temperature was at –9C in 2002, 1,520 bird were recorded. Whether that’s because more birds were out, or simply more people, is unclear.

Once the data is collected, Audubon, which aims to conserve and restore ecosystems, can use it to understand birds’ travel patterns. “Some get a dint in their chip and go across the country while the rest of their friends are in Mexico,” said Ruddy, who took over organizing the Jasper count in 1992. 

Birders of all levels are invited to join the troupe, and are asked to dress warmly and bring a lunch. A potluck dinner follows at the end of the day.