Christmas is nearly here, so I would like to wish a very "Merry Christmas", and a great year in birding, to all the "Online Birders" throughout Canada, or anywhere else that you readers call home. With that in mind, may I challenge you to get involved in a Christmas Bird Count? Find out if there is one in your area, if not, get one going. It is not difficult, and the information needed to get going is available from your provincial naturalist societies. The data gathered is of great value, as the bird populations in the spring and summer are fairly well known, through spring bird counts, and breeding bird surveys, but the winter birds are not as well documented in most areas. The scientific value aside, Christmas Bird Counts are a lot of fun! Usually there is a bit of friendly competition, and a lot of great social interaction among a group of like-minded individuals. The season seems to bring out the best in most of us, so these chances to get together are wonderful times. You see people that you haven't seen in several months, and may not see for several more. There is always the chance to see rare birds for the season, which is fun! On our last CBC, where El Nino provided us with a black Christmas, we had an American Robin! That is not very common in northern Alberta around Christmas! (Actually, that robin stayed around here all winter!)

How many of you know someone who does not get out very much in the winter? I would like to suggest that a good Christmas gift for them would be a feeder and some supplies, as well as a field guide. You might get them started in a hobby that they will be able to enjoy for the rest of their lives. Birding can be as intensive as the birder wishes, and the one who watches the action around a simple feeder filled with oil-seed can get as much enjoyment from that as the "twitchers" get from rushing all over the country to see the latest rare sightings. (I know that to be true, as I do both of those things!) There is something very satisfying about seeing some of our over-wintering feathered neighbours going about their daily business of survival, and knowing that we are helping them. In watching out of a window from a warm house, anyone can see chickadees busy at a feeder, grabbing a seed and flying up to a branch to hammer at the shell until they can get at the kernel inside. I sometimes wonder how often a chickadee hits his toes instead of the seed? One gets to know something about the behaviours of various species, as they gather at your feeder for their lunch. At my feeders, the nuthatches are the bosses, and when they arrive, the chickadees move off the feeder and wait their turn. If the nuthatch is busy on the suet, the chickadees will grab a seed and scoot away. If a downy woodpecker is on the suet, the nuthatch must wait. This week, the house sparrows cleaned out the sun-flower seeds from my big feeder, and then moved on to the Niger seed feeder, wasting the tiny seeds because they didn't like the taste. Then they had the audacity to sit around complaining about the service at my establishment! They even went after the suet with seeds in it, but didn't seem to like the feeling of the fat that stuck to their beaks. After a few pecks at the suet, they would fly up to a branch and vigorously wipe their beaks on the branch. Too bad that I couldn't get a trained cat to keep the house sparrows away, but leave the rest of my customers alone!

To all of you readers who have taken the time to write to me and share your experiences, or to encourage me in writing this column, a very special "Thank You!" for your kindness. Once again, a Merry Christmas to all, and God Bless!