"Hash marks went down next to each species on [Mike] Newhouse’s clipboard. With a gloved hand, he brushed flakes off the paper. Forget about a white Christmas, this was a white Christmas Bird Count, part of Audubon’s 114th annual census of our feathered neighbors."

"The three volunteers were beating the bushes, trees and riverfront near Peekskill. They are part of some 70,000 such counters taking to the field this holiday season in more than 2,300 locations throughout the Western Hemisphere."

Michael Risinit reports for the Lower Hudson Journal News December 22, 2013. [2]