The cold and blustery weather on Jan. 2 didn’t deter Island birders from heading out for the 56th annual Christmas Bird Count on the Vineyard. Sixty-one birders, comprising 13 teams, fanned out across the Island to take stock of the bird population here as part of a larger survey done across the Americas.

The total as of now for the day is 120 species. Some of the highlights included a western kingbird and prairie warbler seen at Squibnocket, a snowy owl at Norton Point, a yellow-breasted chat spotted in Edgartown, Baltimore orioles at Aquinnah and Chilmark and multiple bald eagles.