A group of children and youth are spending the first weekend of 2026 trying to spot as many bird species as possible at Canatara Park.
The annual Christmas Bird Count for Kids will be held on Saturday, January 3, from 9:30 a.m. until 12 p.m. Participants had to preregister.
Organizer Anne Goulden said 29 kids had registered for the event, which is pretty typical. She said usually a parent or guardian will come along for the walk.
"We send one birder guide with each group. We try to keep the groups to under six kids plus their adults. I think this year the groups will probably be four to five kids with their adults, which is a nice size," she said. "They're quite enthused."
Goulden said they typically see a lot of repeat attendees and kids who are involved in the Lambton Wildlife Young Naturalists program.
Saturday's birders will have to bundle up. Environment Canada is calling for a mix of sun and cloud in Sarnia with a chance of light snow late in the afternoon and a high -5 C.
"Last year we saw 18 species. The most we've had was 24 species of birds," Goulden said. "Last year we saw 717 birds. I think our biggest year we had 1,433 and that's because there were groups of ducks out on the lake that kids could see."
While the annual Christmas bird count is fun, Goulden said the most important reason they run the event is to give children the opportunity to see birds through binoculars.
"When you see a bird through a pair of binoculars compared to just trying to look at it with your own eyes... it's just a whole new world," she said. "The birds are beautiful and you see so much more through the binoculars. So suddenly kids that didn't care that much will. Every chance we get to get the kids outside and exploring nature is just a bonus for us and more hope for the future."
Goulden said a group in California started the Christmas bird counting initiative for kids in the early 2000s and it started locally in 2010. She said adults have been doing the count since 1900.
