Mercer Island will be participating in the annual Seattle Audubon Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, Dec. 29.

The count coordinator for the Island is Judith Roan. She will sign up birding enthusiasts to assist in the count. Roan may be reached at jroan@fhcrc.org or 236-0511.

Compilation data going back to 1972 indicates that the Island averages 65 species during a count period. Parks, open spaces and the shoreline are scanned for birds and tallied.