All eyes will be on the skies and along the horizons as participants gear up for the annual Mathews Christmas Bird Count, which is scheduled from dawn until dusk on Sunday in various sectors across Mathews and in the Ware Neck area of Gloucester. This is the 116th year for the count, which is sponsored nationally by the National Audubon Society.

According to the NAS, each count takes place in an established 15-mile wide diameter circle and is organized by a count compiler. Count volunteers follow specified routes, or sectors, counting every bird they see or hear all day.

According to Joyce McKelvey, organizer of the Mathews count, participants this year are encouraged to wear blaze orange clothing, as Sunday hunting is now permitted in Virginia.

“Participants and the community at large should expect to see soft road shoulders,” she added. “Also, some participants are out and about well before dawn listening for owls and woodcocks, so care should be given to these f...