Experienced birders throughout Maine will join more than 50,000 observers nationwide participating in Audubon’s Christmas Bird Counts today through Jan. 5. The count, conducted for more than a century, is a census of early winter bird populations in more than 1,500 locations from Canada to Latin America.

“Up to 30 counts will be conducted in Maine this year -along the coast from Appledore Island on the New Hampshire border all the way down to Eastport and around all the larger towns from Biddeford to Presque Isle,” said Bill Hancock, a longtime birder who coordinates one of the oldest Christmas Bird Counts in the state. He is director of environmental centers for Maine Audubon.

“If you happen to see some of us peering through binoculars in your neighborhood, assume we’re part of the Christmas Bird Count and not to up to anything nefarious,” Hancock, said.

Each group has a designated circle 15 miles in diameter – about 177 square miles – where they record every bird they find during the course of a single day during the count period.

Results of this count – which Audubon launched on Christmas Day 1900 as an alternative to a then-popular holiday bird-hunting competition – have been compiled to create the longest-running database in ornithology, a tremendously valuable resource for learning more about bird behavior and bird conservation.

Filling your backyard bird feeders makes the counters’ job easier, said Linda Woodard, Audubon environmental educator and director of Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center. “Full, clean bird feeders that attract a variety of birds are a real help to us during Christmas Bird Count season.”

Birders of all abilities are welcome to participate in most counts, but you must contact the count compiler. There is a per-person charge of $5 for all counts, with additional fees for boat trips. Visit www.maineaudubon.org for count dates, locations and contact information.

Maine Audubon works to conserve Maine’s wildlife and wildlife habitat by engaging people of all ages in education, conservation and action.

With a 160-year history of connecting people with nature, Maine Audubon is the only organization in Maine that uses three strategies to conserve wildlife: hands-on environmental education, research and wildlife-conservation projects and action to help shape science-based policy.

Maine Audubon’s 3,000 acres of wildlife sanctuary, community environmental centers, citizen-science projects and hundreds of programs and trips offer preschoolers through senior citizens wide-ranging opportunities to explore, learn about and care for Maine’s wildlife.