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LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - To the untrained ear a faint tapping sound coming from the woods is just that, but for Doug Tate it's a sign that a woodpecker could be nearby.

Despite temperatures that hovered in the -40s Tate kept his ears at least partially uncovered on Jan. 3 so he wouldn't miss even the faintest sound made by a bird.

With a pair of binoculars in hand Doug Tate looks for birds near the Martin River bridge during the ninth annual Fort Simpson Christmas bird count. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

This frosty experience is all part of Tate's dedication to the annual Christmas bird count in Fort Simpson.

Tate started the count in the village in January 2000. In that first year Tate made a last-minute decision to hold the event so he was the only person who spent the day looking for birds.

"Since then more people have shown interest," he said.

This year, despite the cold, 11 volunteers canvassed the skies, trees, bushes and bird feeders both on the island and in Wild Rose and Nogha Heights looking for feathered species.

Each participant was responsible for recording both the names and the numbers of each species they saw so Tate could compile the data.

The numbers, which Tate submits to the National Audubon Society, links Fort Simpson's count with a much larger bird census.

Organized by the society, the

Christmas bird count has been underway since 1900.

Across North and South America individuals count the bird species in their area for one day between Dec. 14 to Jan. 5.

The compiled data allows researchers, conservation biologists and anyone else who's interested to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across the survey areas.

If the information about birds that volunteers see around Fort Simpson contributes to a better understanding of the national pictures it's an extra bonus, said Tate.

Tate said he supports the event because he enjoys going outside and seeing the wildlife that's around.

"I've had an interest in animals and wildlife in general for as long as I remember," he said.

The bird species that Tate and other amateur ornithologists see during the count vary slightly from year to year.

Over the past eight counts a total of 25 different bird species have been recorded.

The most unusual were an American tree sparrow and a white-crowned sparrow that were both spotted in 2003.

"They're common in the summer but really unusual to see in the winter," said Tate.

This year 13 species were sighted but none were uncommon.

The numbers counted, 339 individual birds, were also fairly typical, he said.

As always, common ravens topped the list with 161 spotted.

The count for ravens has reached as high as 233, the number seen in 2003.

Pine grosbeaks came in second with 47 sightings followed by house sparrows at 44.

Both species were found almost exclusively at feeders, said Tate.