The conditions were promising for the Christmas Bird Count count — not too cold, not too windy and no fog — as 13 teams fanned out around the Island for the annual check-in with our avian community.

It would be a long New Year’s Day, starting before dawn and ending in darkness. The birds rarely stayed put, and neither did the birders.

Thirteen teams fanned out across the Island Sunday for the 62nd annual Martha's Vineyard Christmas Bird Count. The international event began in 1900.

We all have bird feeders to provide nutritious food for our feathered friends. Likely the feeders are fairly close to our houses, so the birds can be seen up close and personal. All well and good, but we can all do more! They need water to drink and to bathe in. To be most effective, the water needs to be shallow for the smaller birds like the chickadees, and deeper for the larger birds. A small pile of pebbles reaching up to the surface can provide the necessary varied depths.

The 61st annual Christmas Bird Count was held on Jan. 2, but the initial compilation of the data was started the next day when we all gathered via Zoom to review the species we saw in the field.

Carolina wrens were counted in large numbers during the annual Christmas Bird Count. There were more people too on beaches and trails.

Birders from near and far fanned out across Martha’s Vineyard Saturday for the 60th annual Christmas Bird Count. At the end of the day, some 60 birders hung their rain jackets at the Wakeman Center in Vineyard Haven to analyze the data.

This weekend marks a milestone for Martha’s Vineyard birders, who will be fanning out across the Island Saturday in the 60th Christmas Bird Count.

Birders spread out across the Island on Saturday for the Christmas Bird Count, tallying 16,026 birds divided among more than 100 species.

23,222 individual birds were observed, comprising 120 species, during the 2017 Christmas Bird Count.