Birdwatchers and nature lovers are invited to be a part of the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count, according to an announcement by Audubon North Carolina. The citizen science bird project, starting from Monday through January 5, allow public to gather data on birds that could help climate scientists.

During last year’s bird count, North Carolina, which is among the top-performing state in the Christmas census, it birders collected data over 15 individual species, the most tallies of any state in the US. They gathered important information on endangered red knot. As per reports, participants reported seeing about 1,600 red knots along the coast.

The Audubon Christmas Bird Count was started by the National Audubon Society more than a century ago in 1900. Interested birdwatchers and nature lovers can take part in the count with paying a single penny as fee.

There are reports that some Lincoln-area kids and their families will participate in this year’s count. On December 30, the Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center has planned to host first Christmas Bird Count for children in Nebraska.

As per some people, before the start of 20th century, Christmas bird hunt was a holiday tradition for kids who loved to see different bird species. The century-old tradition was started when M. Chapman and more than two dozen birders planned a Christmas bird census. Their plan was to count the birds, instead of hunting them. Today, the bird count tradition is still going strong as the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count.