The count is in â the Payson Christmas Bird Count, that is. Since 1900, the National Audubon Society has conducted bird counts throughout North America. Local birding enthusiasts conducted their 17th annual count on Jan. 5. It was a cold, but beautiful morning when 14 participants headed out to spend the day identifying and counting all the birds they saw or heard in and around Payson. By the end of the day the participants had seen 83 species and 2,852 birds, fairly average numbers for the count.
The count is a census of the birds found during a 24-hour period in a designated circle 15 miles in diameter. The Payson count circle is centered a little northeast of town. It runs north to the Control Road and Whispering Pines, east just past Diamond Point Shadows, south to just below Oxbow Hill, and west to Tonto Natural Bridge. The national project includes over 2,000 counts held between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5. There are over 35 counts held in Arizona, including Camp Verde, Jerome, Se