Gila woodpeckers are responsible for most of the holes found in Saguaro cacti at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument/NPS

With the year-end closing in, it's time to start counting birds in the National Park System.

At Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in Indiana, the annual Christmas Bird Count is scheduled for Thursday, December 29. Families, students, amateurs, birders, and scientists alike are invited to show up with binoculars, bird guides, and checklists and go out on an annual mission to count the lakeshore's bird population.

The Audubon Society and other organizations use the data collected in this longest-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations and to guide conservation actions.

This event is free, but requires registration by December 26. To register or learn more about the annual bird count at the national lakeshore, contact ranger Christine Gerlach at 219-395-1885 or visit this event on the park's Facebook page.

Across the country, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona are looking for birders of all skill levels for this year’s Christmas Bird Count. This year, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument will revisit two count circles reopened last year that hadn’t been counted since 1983.

This year’s count days are Saturday, December 17, for the Ajo count and Monday and Tuesday, December 19 and 20, for the Organ Pipe counts. All those interested in participating are invited to the informational meeting at the Cabeza Prieta Refuge Visitor Center on Friday, December 16, at 2 p.m. At the meeting, Organ Pipe Cactus NM and Cabeza Prieta NWR representatives will sign-up volunteers and establish groups based on interest in specific areas to survey and birding experience. Each circle has a 15-mile diameter in which volunteers record every bird they see or hear. 

Organ Pipe officials say they are especially in need of experienced birders, but would love to have everyone participate who is interested and has at least a basic knowledge of Sonoran desert birds.

For more information, contact Kim Veverka (Cabeza Prieta NWR) at 520-387-4987 or Joe Veverka (Organ Pipe Cactus NM) at 520-387-6849, Ext. 7119.