Nature ultimately didn't rain on the parade. The seventh annual Christmas Bird Count for Kids and Youth Saturday started out under drizzle but soon the skies dried up.

"The rain did impact attendance, a few families sent their apologies in the morning. Those who came out were rewarded, the rain stopped shortly after we started the count. And we got to see some fun, not always there, birds," said Nehal Saleh, organizer.

Some attendees came from as far as Vancouver. There were about 15 families.

"Birds at the lagoon are out regardless of weather," she said. "They have a wonderful wax coating on their feathers that protects them from rain."

The participants at the free event counted 27 species and 386 individual birds.

The count on Saturday, Dec. 28, has been going on long enough that bird patterns have been documented.

"We saw some fun birds this year like bald eagles, hummingbirds, red-tailed hawks, and a Great Blue Heron," she noted. "The blackbirds were back this year. The wood ducks are now a staple at the lagoon. We have observed them increasing in numbers the last couple of years. Canada goose, mallard ducks and glaucous-winged gulls still dominate the lagoon."

The Christmas count for kids started in 2007 by Sonoma Birding in California. Birds Canada joined as the Canadian partner in 2010. Saleh founded Explore Science Club to offer programming for kids, and the club started its count in 2018.

"It was great to see returning families in addition to meeting new families. Some families have been coming since the first bird count," Saleh said.

The count isn't just for fun. 

"All our data will be submitted to Birds Canada and helps inform research both in Canada and worldwide. The database is used to better understand varied questions about birds. These questions can range from the impact of climate change on bird migration to assessing the impact of human building activity on local species richness," Saleh explained.

Escape Science Club also submits its data to eBird, an online database of bird observations, providing real-time data about bird distribution and abundance, she said. The data collected here will be posted on the club's website.

The next Explore Science Club event is Hearty Fun in Nature which will take place Feb. 15 at Campbell Valley Regional Park.