ORONO — The National Audubon Society’s Orono-Old Town Christmas Bird Count will be held Saturday, Dec. 21, in the Orono-Old Town-Bradley-Milford-Veazie region, where birders will join more than 45,000 volunteers taking part in the 97th national bird count held Dec. 20-Jan. 5.

The event began in 1900 with 27 conservationists who counted birds as a protest to the traditional Christmas Day bird shoot.

Each group taking part in the Christmas count has a 15-mile-diameter circle in which to cover as much ground as possible in a 24-hour period. Information is sent to the National Audubon Society headquarters in New York and is published in a book-sized edition of National Audubon Society Field Notes magazine.

Those wanting to take part in the count should contact Judy Markowsky at the Fields Pond Nature Center at 989-2591.