Anyone within a 15-mile radius of Callery can help collect data Dec. 29 for a scientific midwinter survey of birds in the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania’s 13th annual South Butler Christmas Bird Count.

Chris Kubiak, education director at the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, said the South Butler count joins 4,300 other counts across North America.

He said interested parties need no expertise in birding to volunteer, which can be done in one of two ways.

Volunteers with backyard bird feeders can participate from the comfort and warmth of their homes by recording on a sheet provided by the society the birds that flutter and flock to their feeders for a specific amount of time.

Kubiak said volunteers can watch their feeders for 15 consecutive minutes, or pull up a chair and observe the birds for an hour or longer.

The sheet is then submitted to the society for tabulation with other volunteers’ counts.

The other way to participate appeals to the desire of some to get out in the field.

Kubiak said would-be scientists can meet at 8 a.m. at Marcraig House at the society’s Succop Nature Park, 185 Airport Road, Penn Township.

From there, they will be assigned to a territory within the count’s 15-mile circle, where they will search for birds to record using binoculars.

“If you’re a first-time counter or a novice, don’t worry, we’ll pair you with more advanced birders who have done the count before,” Kubiak said.

Children, whose education in the natural world always is a priority at the society, get their own special program at the Succop Nature Park for the bird count.

Ryan Stauffer, a naturalist at the society, will offer a Kids Christmas Bird Count from 10 a.m. to noon on the same day at the nature park.

Stauffer will pass out binoculars and guide families as they traverse the nature park’s grounds on the hunt for birds to record on sheets provided by the society.

“That data counts for the Christmas Bird Count,” he said. “This is an opportunity for children to contribute to real science.”

Stauffer starts the event with a presentation on how the bird count will be completed and why it’s done.

“When they understand the contribution to real-time science, they really become scientists for a day,” he said.

Stauffer said children learn how climate change affects bird migration, and that if science finds a problem with the environment, it can be fixed by changing policies using scientific study.

“It’s easy, fun and guided, and we’re hoping the next generation of environmental conservationists right here in Butler County will take advantage of the program,” he said.

There is no charge for the Kids Christmas Bird Count, but registration is required at aswp.org/pages/succop by clicking on “calendar” then “Kids Christmas Bird Count SNP.”

Kubiak said the center of the South Butler count is Callery because the 15-mile radius from that point encompasses the various landscapes of Butler County.

“We wanted to include Cranberry Township, Zelienople and everywhere in between,” he said.

Kubiak explained that the southern part of the circle includes the more developed areas of Cranberry Township, while the circle’s northern portion of Connoquenessing Township provides a more rural bird habitat.

“It gives us a good contrast to look at how development is changing some of our bird populations,” he said.

Kubiak said many birds are year-round residents of Western Pennsylvania, while others migrate south and still others overwinter here.

“Lots of those birds, their populations have been shown to be either in a relatively modest decline or, in the case of some species, a steep decline,” he said.

One species in an alarming decline, Kubiak said, is the American tree sparrow, which once dotted the local landscape in the winter.

He said changes in climate, reintroduction programs, decreasing habitat due to development and other factors impact various species in different ways.

“All of those things are important to make conservation decisions in the future,” Kubiak said.

He said 2024 marks the 125th Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count, and bird populations are vastly different now compared to the first count, which was held on Christmas Day.

Kubiak said bird populations at the first count in 1899 would have been adapted to the farming practices that proliferated in Western Pennsylvania and Butler County.

Over time, bird populations would have reflected the decline in farming and the return of forests.

He said 125 years ago, no one looking skyward would have spotted a raptor, hawk, owl or eagle.

“Today, they are extremely abundant,” Kubiak said.

He said the annual winter count always brings a few surprises, as the avian world is consistently unpredictable.

In 2023, two young catbirds were spotted in Western Pennsylvania. Catbirds normally migrate south as soon as the weather turns cool.

“It’s hard to say exactly why they were here,” Kubiak said. “It could be it was just a really good year for catbirds, or they were just stragglers.

“It could mean that some birds that couldn’t survive winter (in years past) are sticking around because these birds are better able to handle our warmer winters,” Kubiak said.

Waterfowl have also decreased in number in and around the county, which Kubiak attributes to low levels in creeks, streams and other waterways.

“They probably moved to different areas that are more conducive to their survival,” he said.

Kubiak said the most common bird recorded by volunteers during the South Butler event is not the large, flashy blue jay or striking red cardinal.

“It’s the European starling, by far,” he said. “It’s not even close.”

Kubiak said of the 7,000 birds counted last year, at least half were starlings.

“As an invasive species, they have just dominated,” he said.

He said the squawking speckled blackbirds can thrive in urban, suburban and rural areas.

“They push out a lot of our native birds,” Kubiak said, naming the Eastern bluebird and redheaded woodpecker as two populations whose numbers have been greatly affected by the European starling.

He said birds that have shown an increase in population locally are robins and cedar waxwings.

“(The cedar waxwing) is not surprising because we had a pretty good fruit year,” Kubiak said.

He looks forward to lots of birders, those interested in birds and others concerned about nature to take part in the bird count later this month.

Last year, 66 people counted in the field and 25 at feeders.

“Every single observation helps us get a picture of what’s going on,” Kubiak said. “You don’t have to have any experience whatsoever.”