JOPLIN, Mo. — There were plenty of smiles, today, at “Wildcat Glades”.

That’s because today was their annual Christmas bird count gathering.

Partnering with the “National Audubon Society”, the event takes place once a year.

It gives kids and families the opportunity to see and count different types of birds in their natural habitats.

Naturalist Kensi Tillman says this is a gateway to get kids outside to explore and identify with nature.

“Well this morning, we did a kid’s Christmas Bird count, which is as simple as it sounds, we counted birds. It’s a long-standing citizen science project with the Audubon Society. And so we come out here and we just count the birds that we see and then that information can be submitted for science,” said Kensi Tillman, Naturalist.

Tillman says the Audubon Society submits the bird information collected today, which is then used for tracking bird populations across the nation.