Bird count returns Saturday

BESSEMER — The annual Gogebic Range pre-Christmas Bird Count returns Saturday.

People who wish to participate should count all birds during the day and report to Jerry Edde in Bessemer at 906-663-6907. Calls should be made after 5 p.m.

Participants should record the number of birds by species in a roughly 7.5-mile radius from the spotlight in Bessemer, including all of Hurley, Ironwood and Wakefield.

When counting birds at the feeder, report only the highest number of each species seen at one time, so the same birds aren’t counted more than once. People should also keep track of the number of hours they spend watching for birds.

“This year appears to be an irruptive year where we can expect to see snowy owls, pine grosbeaks, evening grosbeaks and Bohemian waxwings moving into our area from the north in greater numbers than in most years,” Edde said.

“Get our those binoculars, bird books, notebooks and fill up those feeders,” said Edde, a retired Ottawa National Forest Service biologist.