LOOK, UP IN THE SKY BIRDERS HELP WHEN IT COUNTS.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Binoculars hanging from his neck, Dan Cooper hiked near the main channel of the Santa Clara River Sunday morning and made a sound that was something like, ``shew-shew-shew.''

``It's an alarm call. It gets the birds agitated so they pop up and fly around,'' said Cooper, director of bird conservation for Audubon California, which is dedicated to protecting birds, other wildlife and the habitat that supports them. He watched a Bewick's wren fly out in response to his call.

Cooper, along with three others, recently formed the Santa Clara River team that would take part in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count - a yearly event in which volunteers and birders across the Western Hemisphere count each bird they encounter and take note of the species they see along the hike in a notebook.

California Audubon designated the Santa Clara River an important bird area and listed the threats to the bird community as critical.

Along with six other teams assigned to different areas throughout the Santa Clarita Valley, Cooper's team, which was designated to scout an area 15 miles in diameter near the Santa Clara River, spent five hours recording how many birds they observed and the different species.

The approximately 40 people taking part in the count in the valley would then get together to tally the numbers and enter them into a national database that allows for year-to-year comparisons.

The Santa Clara River's numbers would be the first for the area and would provide a base line for future scoutings.

``The Santa Clara River is the last free-flowing river in Los Angeles County,'' explained Cooper, adding that it is a home for wildlife. ``Their habitat is really threatened by development here.''

Due to rampant development in the valley, Cooper said most of the decline in bird species has occurred over the past 10 years. A count that started in the 1970s, he said, would have revealed dramatic results by now, but since those numbers don't exist, Sunday's hike was important because it would provide the data for future generations to use for comparisons.

With no previous data to compare, Cooper said it would be difficult to quantify the loss of bird species in the area, but he was able to make some general observations.

The birders became excited when they spotted a turkey vulture and a white-tailed kite, but they were looking for more sensitive species, a common ground dove and a loggerhead shrike.

During a five-day survey of the area, for example, Cooper found one loggerhead shrike, which was abundant in the area in the 1970s and 1980s.

``We have a responsibility to do what we can so the most sensitive species stay around,'' he said.

``You change the habitat, you change the birds,'' he said. ``People have to consider - do we want parks with swings and benches or do we want something more natural, a biodiverse area?

``They're proposing car dealerships around the river. What's lacking is political will and a desire to protect it. For any wild area to be preserved, it requires a whole group of people to be ethical.''

The Christmas Bird Count began on Christmas Day 1900, when a small group of conservationists began counting the birds they saw - as opposed to the traditional holiday activity of hunting the birds.

Accumulated data from the counts provide the raw material for studies monitoring the status of early winter bird populations as well as the overall health of the environment.

Environmental activist Teresa Savaikie, who joined the hike, said she was disturbed about the impact development has on local bird populations.

``I think it's really unfortunate, and I'm hoping people will wake up,'' she said. ``I worry so much that my children and their children won't see any of these bird species.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2) Jerry Murphy and Lisa Fimiani scour the Santa Clara River for such birds as the white-tailed kite, right.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer