Organizers of this year鈥檚 annual bird count in 91原创 and White Rock are looking forward to operating without pandemic restrictions.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be back to normal,鈥� said 91原创 photographer John Gordon.

That means anyone who is interested in taking part in the Thursday, Dec. 29 count can just show up at the McDonald鈥檚 restaurant at Fraser Highway and 216th Street at 7:30 a.m.

Warm weather gear, especially winter boots with good traction, is an essential, but previous experience is not.

Novices will be paired up with long-time counters like Gordon, who said another plus will be the ability, once again, to resume ride-sharing to different counting area, rather than having to coordinate multiple vehicles in order to observe social distancing requirements.

鈥淲e like to carpool,鈥� Gordon explained, 鈥� because we are environmentally sensitive.鈥�

Anyone who wants to wear masks is welcome to, but they are not required, he added.

READ ALSO: Keeping a careful distance, participants prepare for 121st annual bird count in 91原创

Last year, turnout was at a bare minimum, thanks to the strictures of COVID-19 and frigid weather conditions, with

just 12 people taking part, a fraction of the typical turnout of 30 to 40, and just enough to cover the different count areas.

This year, backyard bird counters are being encouraged to participate.

鈥淓very year more people are feeding birds in their back yards where our field observers are unable to count them, so we are inviting those people to call us on the day of the Count with the numbers of birds seen at some point during the day,鈥� said organizer Gareth Pugh.

鈥淲e would be happy to provide free identification guides to anyone who would like them or ask one of our observers to visit you to help with identification,鈥� Pugh added.

READ ALSO: Fewer birds, and some surprises, during the annual White Rock/Surrey/91原创 bird count

To provide backayrd numbers, call Gareth Pugh at 604-649-1027, John Gordon at 604-533-7171 or Mike Klotz at 604-861-1677, or e-mail gareth@intergate.ca for more information.

The count is an early-winter bird census by the , conducted with the help of more than 70,000 volunteers across Canada, the U.S. and many other countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Christmas bird counts, when a group of concerned natural historians felt it was better to count living birds than try to shoot as many as possible in a day.

Information collected by participants over the past century are one of only two large pools of data about how birds of the Americas have been faring over time.

In 1962, the first count was carried out in the Surrey municipality with 17 observers.

This year鈥檚 fifth annual Christmas Bird Count for Kids and Youth will be hosted by the 91原创-City-based Explore Science on Saturday, Dec. 31. Participants walk the area of Brydon Lagoon starting at 9 a.m. It is free but requires advance registration online at or by emailinglearn@explorescienceclub.com.