Birding enthusiasts had a beautiful, unseasonably warm day Sunday as they walked all around Mathews County to take part in the Mathews Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Mathews CBC compiler Mark Sopko said that 34 people took part in the local count. Although he won’t have final numbers until he meets with all the sector leaders, preliminary results (with only three sectors reporting) indicate 71 species spotted. “We should be able to push [that number] to 100 species,” he estimated, once the final numbers are compiled. One of the largest groups, above, spent Sunday morning counting along the beach in Bavon. They include, from left, Joyce Pully, Shanna Ryan, Gee Brownley, Dave Yeager, Maryanna Fisher, Susan Crockett, Doug Dwoyer, Glen Palmer and Tom Crockett. On the dock at Sopko’s home on Fickle Fen Road (below) are, from left, Scott Grady and Sopko.

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