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Count birds and help project Ornithologists are soliciting help this weekend from the most avid bird watchers to kids who press their noses to backyard windows -- all in the name of bird science. The National Audubon Society and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology are conducting their second annual Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend. Everyone can participate by simply counting the birds they see at their backyard feeders, parks and other areas. Reports are entered via the Internet at BirdSource, an interactive Web site developed by the Cornell Lab and Audubon. Researchers hope to use the data compiled during the voluntary counts to assess this year's abundance of North American birds just before the spring migration begins, says Frank Gill, Audubon senior vice president. To do this, researchers are counting on an estimated 60 million people who feed or watch birds across the country. By spending as little as 15 minutes some time Friday through Monday, anyone can participate. To report counts, the Web address is: http://birdsource.cornell.edu Here's how it works: Spend a few moments one or several days counting the highest number of any particular bird species you see in one place at one time (that way, birds are not counted twice). Log onto the BirdSource Web site and report your observations by filling out the online checklist. Those not online can telephone counts to Wild Birds Unlimited at 1-800-326-4928. In last year's inaugural count, more than 14,000 people tallied more than 500,000 birds. Researchers have special interest in this year's count because it follows the 1998 El Nino weather patterns, which dumped unprecedented amounts of rain on the West Coast while producing a hot, dry summer in the Southeast. Oregon Trout has moved its Southwest Field Office from Ashland to downtown Medford. The wild fish advocacy group now has its area office at 33 N. Central Ave., No. 27, Medford. The new telephone number is 772-7988. A weeklong effort to capture wild bighorn sheep in Canada and transport them to the Hells Canyon area proved successful in part because of help from a local hunting organization. Twenty of the sheep were moved from Alberta, Canada, to the Idaho and Oregon portions of Hells Canyon Feb. 12 by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. These sheep will supplement a successful transplant of sheep into Hells Canyon from nearby British Columbia last year. This marks the second transplant sponsored by the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep as well as the ODFW, federal wildlife agencies and Medford-based Oregon Hunters Association. The public-private venture is a long-term effort to restore bighorn sheep in Hells Canyon. Bighorn sheep were once common in Hells Canyon but were killed off in the early 1900s by a combination of human-caused factors, including disease. Restoration efforts began in 1971. Outdoor Journal main page Mail Tribune Copyright � interRogue & The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA