One cold morning in December, 25 volunteers bundled up to search the skies around Mark Twain Lake to count the bird population. Starting as early as 3:30 a.m., the nine teams pointed their binoculars to cover 298 miles around the lake area in search of our feathered friends. It’s the first time our neck of the woods has been covered in the official bird count for the National Audubon Society. Get our free mobile app The annual December bird count has been going on for 121 years. The Hannibal area was added to the official locations in large part because of George Wisdom, a member of Mississippi Hills Master Naturalists. He put in hours of work filling out the lengthy application process that the Audubon Society requires to even be considered. Once he got approval, he had to put out the call for volunteer bird watchers. He hoped that ten people might be willing to brave the winter elements for his pet project. As the morning dawned, 25 people showed up armed with binoculars. They were amateur backyard bird-feeder enthusiasts mixed with experienced birders who’ve been scouting for different species for decades.