Birdwatchers across North and South America are out in numbers again this week and next, taking the annual bird census. It's a tradition that started in 1900 as a way to protest a different kind of tradition ... teams of hunters would compete to see how many bird and small animal species they could kill. The 97th annual count, sponsored by the National Audubon Society, began December 20th and runs through January Fifth, involves 45-thousand birders, and continues a valuable research tradition, allowing experts to trace bird populations and the condition of the environment in general. I called a few birdwatchers involved in the annual count, starting with Jim Pasch, who lives on the northern edge of the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge. He and his fellow birdwatchers went out Saturday.