At the end of the last century, people in the eastern United States had a bloodthirsty tradition called the Side Hunt, says Environment Canada biologist Wendy Nixon.

At Christmas time, hunters would go out in the woods for a day and shoot as many birds as they could find, of all sizes and species. It was a competition of sorts, Nixon says.

In 1900, a group of conservationists decided to protest the traditional hunt by staging a contest of a different kind. They went out on Christmas Day and counted as many birds as they could find.

The Side Hunt is long gone, but the Christmas Bird Count remains. This Christmas season there will be 1700 individual Christmas Bird Counts ranging across all of the United States, every province and territory in Canada, parts of Central and South America, Bermuda, the West Indies, and some Pacific islands.

The bird count has become an important tool in keeping track of winter bird populations. The National Audubon Society in New York co-ordinates the project overall, gathers together all the information produced by the volunteer counters, and publishes the collected data each year.

Counts are standardized -- time spent searching and distance travelled are recorded along with the number of each species of bird observed. Counts can be conducted any time within a two and a half week period around Christmas.

At least four bird counts will be held this year in the Yukon -- in Whitehorse, at McClintock Bay, at Haines Junction, and near Kluane Lake. Nixon has been co-ordinator of the Whitehorse Christmas Bird Count for several years and Helmut Grunberg has coordinated the McClintock Bay count.

Each count is conducted in a designated circle 15 miles in diameter. The centre of the circle for the Whitehorse bird count is the top of Two-Mile Hill.

"The neat thing about the Whitehorse count area is there's a huge variety of terrain, from the river, which always has open water, up to the alpine on Haeckel Hill," says Nixon.

The species observed reflect this variety: everything from two or three species of ducks on the river to woodpeckers in the forests and ptarmigan up in the alpine. Counts in the past few years have turned up 22 species on average.

Nixon says the Whitehorse count has traditionally been on Boxing Day. She finds it a good break after the hustle and feasting of Christmas Day. Usually about 15 to 20 people show up to tramp, ski, snowshoe, or drive around the count area looking for birds.

"People just enjoy the excuse to get out and go birding in the winter," she says.

Yukon winter weather often makes the bird count fairly challenging. The count goes ahead regardless of the weather, but the birders sometimes have to adapt to unusual problems.

When it's minus 30, you can't breathe while you're looking through binoculars, she says. If you do, the binoculars fog up and you can't see anything. One year, when it was warm enough to prevent the fogging problem, freezing rain fell and all the binoculars iced up. Despite the occasional weather-related problem, the bird count draws enthusiastic participation.

"Hardy souls go from dawn to dusk, and the even hardier go out and listen for owls after dark," Nixon says. "It's fun. We get together after it's too dark to count, and compare notes and usually have a potluck dinner."

More participants are always welcome, she says. It's not necessary to be an expert at bird identification, since beginning birders are paired up with experienced birders. In the past, she's found that the number of species sighted is directly related to the number of people taking part in the bird count.

"In other words, the more eyes the better," Nixon says.

For more information about any of the Yukon's Christmas bird counts or about how to set up your own bird count, contact Wendy Nixon, Environment Canada, Whitehorse, at (867) 667-3929.