Valley joins Audubon bird count

MAT-SU — Between Dec. 14 and Jan. 4, 2014, hawk-eyed volunteers across the country will brave various weather conditions to count birds during the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. On Dec. 15, birders and nature enthusiasts in the Matanuska Valley will take part in this tradition, many rising before dawn to participate in the longest running wildlife census on the planet.

This will be the 34th consecutive year that Christmas Bird Counts have been held in the Valley. The 15-mile diameter Matanuska Valley Count Circle is centered at Four Corners (Old Trunk Road and Palmer-Wasilla Highway). Field teams count every bird they see in 7.5-mile radius from Four Corners and participants who live within the Count Circle count birds at their home feeders.

Learn more online at audubon.org and follow @audubonsociety.