The Middle Peninsula Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday at locations in Gloucester, Middlesex and King and Queen counties.

The species count for Sector 7 (from Ark Park to Woods Cross Roads, west of Route 17) was 40 species and 573 individual birds counted; 8.5 hours of counting, complier Susan Crockett said on Monday. She added that she won’t have a species and number count for the entire 15-mile diameter circle until early next week.

There have been some rare birds reported recently in Gloucester: Trumpeter Swans at Beaverdam Park and an Orange-crowned Warbler on a private property, Crockett said.

The Mathews Bird Count (which includes Mathews County and a part of Gloucester) will take place this coming Saturday, Jan. 3, with Mark Sopko serving as compiler of that count.

For the Mathews count, it looks like Sopko will have 35 people participating. “We should be out and about Mathews County from dawn till dusk,” he said. He added that he wants everyone to be aware if they see “a bunch of crazy birders stopping by the roadside or empty lots with binoculars and cameras” that the count is underway.

If anyone would like to join the Mathews count at the last minute, contact Sopko at mgsopko@gmail.com so he can place them with a team. No previous experience is necessary.

“The annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count is about camaraderie and enjoying birds,” Sopko said. “Plus, the data goes a long way to help conservation efforts nationwide.”