Bird watchers gather across rural Oregon for annual Christmas count

Bird watchers gather across rural Oregon for annual Christmas count

As Oregonians share meals and gifts this holiday season, small groups are braving the winter conditions to count birds in the state’s rural corners. They’re part of the National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count, an increasingly popular nationwide event that continues through Jan. 5. The group uses the data to track changes to the environment and bird populations, in part for conservation. With binoculars and cameras, groups are driv…