BIRDERS ROAM AREA FOR ANNUAL TALLY.

Byline: Christopher Noxon Daily News Staff Writer

Groups of wildlife enthusiasts spread out across marshes, hillsides and canyons in eastern Ventura County Sunday for the National Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count.

Members of the Conejo Valley chapter of the organization used Sunday for the national survey, which is carried out in the latter part of December every year by more than 1,700 chapters across the United States.

Packing field guides, clipboards and binoculars, more than 30 local birders walked from dawn until dusk picking out individual species and estimating population totals. The local bird count routinely tallies more than 170 species, making Ventura County one of the most diverse habitats in the state.

``We've got absolutely terrific birding here,'' said Don Kobabe, an Audubon member who joined a team to survey Point Mugu and Sycamore Canyon. ``This is just another excuse for us to come out and do our thing.''

The count provides conservationists and government ecologists with information on bird population trends and the condition of bird habitat. Results are compiled in a national survey published by the Audubon Society every summer.

Seven teams from the Conejo chapter included a group of six birders that hiked through Sycamore Canyon, a state park and campground that begins at the beach and climbs high into the Santa Monica Mountains. Once a thriving habitat for migratory birds, the canyon has been slow to recover from fires three years ago.

``It used to be really exciting walking in here and seeing what we'd find,'' said Kobabe. ``After the fires it got to the point that we didn't see nearly as much diversity.''

While sightings of eagles or roadrunners are less common, some local populations continue to thrive. Still active in the area are scrub jays, starlings, California quails and house finches. The team counted 286 scrub finches before lunch.

More exotic finds include the grosbeak, a seed-eating black bird with a dramatic yellow flare across the side of its head, and the white-tailed kite, a relative of the hawk spotted early Sunday morning hovering over a rodent hole.

In past years the chapter has logged as many as 27,000 individual birds. Members say they pick out birds by scanning the bush and treetops for movement and variations in color. Totals are tallied through educated guesses, said Kobabe.

``When a flock flies over, you can't stop and pick every single one,'' said Kobabe. ``You get good at estimating.''

But the point of the count is not to come up with a final population figure, said team leader Angie Kobabe.

``The whole point is to see trends,'' she said. ``We're not out here so much to see how many particular birds we can count, but how many species we can identify.''