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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212;Even if no one else shows up for the Audubon Society&#8217;s regular monthly bird walk on Sunday, Bob Wasilewski says he&#8217;ll be there.</p><p>The Laurel Run man is president of the Greater Wyoming Valley Audubon Society, after all, and has a tradition of leading bird walks at Kirby Park on the fourth Sunday of each month, even when it happens to be a holiday.</p><p>So if you&#8217;d like to stretch your legs, get some fresh air and see if you can spot some wildlife on the wing, you&#8217;re welcome to join him at 8 a.m. Christmas morning at the club&#8217;s usual meeting spot, the parking lot by the Nesbitt boat launch, accessed via First Avenue.</p><p>Cardinals, chickadees, titmice and downy woodpeckers are likely to be about, Wasilewski said, along with water fowl on the Susquehanna River and perhaps raptors flying overheard.</p><p>&#8220;Occasionally we see a bald eagle,&#8221; he said.&#8221;They&#8217;re becoming very, very common. It&#8217;s almost hard to go out and NOT see a bald eagle.&#8221;</p><p>But let&#8217;s say Dec. 25 is not a convenient day for you to go birding at 8 a.m. Don&#8217;t worry; there will be other opportunities.</p><p>For example, you can take part in the National Audubon Society&#8217;s 117th annual Christmas Bird Count by signing up with a group that has been assigned to a specific region.</p><p>Counts were scheduled in Tunkhannock, Bloomsburg and the Dallas area last weekend, but there&#8217;s still time to make arrangements to count in Southeast Bradford County on Dec. 31 (contact Trudy Gerlach at tgswoods@epix.net), or in the Mt. Pocono area on Jan. 1 (contact Derek Scott at 570-828-2319 or Dscott@peec.org) or in Tioga County on Jan. 1 (contact Gary 570-724-5789 or gnats3@ptd.net) For outings in other areas, see audubon.org.</p><p>The Christmas Bird Count started in 1900 as an alternative to an annual hunt during which hunters tried to bag as many birds and other animals as they could, Wasilewski said. &#8220;Instead of killing them, the conservationists who started it wanted to count them.&#8221;</p><p>Nowadays, the count helps reveal changes in the population and range of birds, he said, and the participants, who usually set out in groups of two or three, consider themselves citizen scientists.</p><p>Winter is an ideal time for beginners to try to identify birds, Wasilewski said, because there are fewer species around, and it&#8217;s easier to see their distinctive characteristics after the leaves have fallen.</p><p>Bird fans may also be interested in an upcoming eagle watch sponsored by the Pocono Environmental Education Center in Dingmans Ferry. Set for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 22, it will take participants from the center to areas where eagles are likely to appear. (Cost is $20; call 570-828-2319 for reservations.)</p><p>&#8220;Late January and early February is a time they&#8217;re very active,&#8221; Sheri Bone from the PEEC staff said. &#8220;They&#8217;ll be getting ready to nest, and they lay their eggs early, around Valentine&#8217;s Day.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_bird.cardinal.jpeg">
<div class="neCaption">If you go birding in Kirby Park on Christmas Day, or other days throughout the winter, you just may see a cardinal like this one that perched in a thicket. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_bird.cardinal.jpeg</photo0><caption0>If you go birding in Kirby Park on Christmas Day, or other days throughout the winter, you just may see a cardinal like this one that perched in a thicket. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file photos </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_bird.watcher.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sharon Black, Shavertown looks through her binoculars, hoping to spot birds during a past outing at a local state park. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_bird.watcher.jpg</photo1><caption1>Sharon Black, Shavertown looks through her binoculars, hoping to spot birds during a past outing at a local state park. </caption1><photoCredit1>Times Leader file photos </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_bird.immaturebaldeagle.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The Pocono Environmental Education Center will sponsor an eagle watch in January, during which you may see the birds preparing to nest. This is an immature bald eagle, and its feathers haven&#8217;t turned white yet. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_bird.immaturebaldeagle.jpg</photo2><caption2>The Pocono Environmental Education Center will sponsor an eagle watch in January, during which you may see the birds preparing to nest. This is an immature bald eagle, and its feathers haven&#8217;t turned white yet. </caption2><photoCredit2>Times Leader file photos </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_tufted.titmouse.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The tufted titmouse is one of the birds it&#8217;s possible to spot in northeastern Pennsylvania in December. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_tufted.titmouse.jpg</photo3><caption3>The tufted titmouse is one of the birds it&#8217;s possible to spot in northeastern Pennsylvania in December. </caption3><photoCredit3>National Audubon Society </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Audubon Society, environmental center schedule birding activities</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Audubon Society plans bird walk, bird count