Rain hampered the annual Christmas bird count in 91原创 on Saturday, with fewer people turning out and those who did attend having to endure a massive downpour to conduct the tally.

鈥淚t was brutal,鈥� said organizer .

鈥淭he water was keeping everyone away, even the birds.鈥�

Klotz said some teams went hours without spotting more than a few birds.

About 16 people showed up to carry out the tally of birds within several areas of 91原创, dividing up into teams to survey specific neighbourhoods.

They counted 5,200 birds, well below the average of 6,000 to 7,000 recorded most years.

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.

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

READ MORE:

Christmas bird counts in the Lower Mainland are each conducted on a single day between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5.

Each one is organized by a birding club or naturalist organization.

In 91原创, the count is part of the larger White Rock/Surrey/91原创 count.