The Weyburn Nature Society's annual Christmas bird count is taking place today. The group will break up into teams and count the birds within a 15-mile radius of the city and at one location out of town.

The society is expecting about 16 bird watchers to take part in the count, which will be sent into Nature Saskatchewan as part of the province-wide Christmas count. Watchers are expected to start the count at 9 a.m. and should be finished by noon, however some will continue into the afternoon.

Last year, bird watchers travelled nearly 290 kms by car and foot to do the count, including a visit to the Carlyle Lake-Kenosee Lake area.

When a bird is spotted, the watchers check the species off on a list and continue to count as many birds as possible in the allotted time frame. Every once in a while a rare species is spotted. Last year a barred owl, which usually remains in the north, was spotted.