At the crack of dawn on Saturday, December 15, 2007, teams of Kane County Audubon volunteers embarked on a survey of all the birds that could be identified in a section of Kane County designated as "Area 8 of the Fermi Lab circle." (Area 8 is basically comprised of the territory west of the Fox River that falls within a 15-mile diameter circle centered on Fermi Lab.) The Christmas Bird Count, a program of the National Audubon Society, is in its 108^th year. The purpose of the survey is to collect data that scientists can use to determine the viability of bird populations across North America.

This year's Kane County count, with approximately the same number of man-hours as last year, showed an increase in species counted, from 43 to 48. The total number of birds counted also grew, from 8,204 to 11,512. The most populous (not popular) species was the Canada Goose with 6,387 birds. The American Tree Sparrow was the next most-counted at 1,054 - a dramatic increase from last year's count of 243! Thirty-seven of the forty-eight species counted this year experienced increases. Five species counted last year weren't seen this year.

Following is a summary of the results of the last two years: