From the Sunday morning fog that hovers over Spring Grove Cemetery in Winton Place, a chorus of birds seems to be singing from elaborate sheet music etched on trees.

        They're not. It's nearly as chaotic as it is melodic.

        Veteran bird observers such as the ones here Sunday morning can identify a specific bird from its chirping sound, find it in the trees and watch the group's movement.

        It's part of the annual National Audubon Bird Count, a project of the National Audubon Society and the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, N.Y.

        The count here involved a half-dozen spots on Cincinnati's west side, including Spring Grove and Mount Airy Forest. The tally was not available Sunday night.

        Next Sunday, bird-watchers take to the city's east side, including Mount Washington's Stanbery Park.

        The inexact science: Don't miss a bird, but also don't count the same one twice. The goal: to track shifts in bird populations and migration movement. Results are forwarded to the national organization for its annual report.

        “I want to identify them by hearing them,” says first- timer Joyce Cantor, 65, of Wyoming, who was joined at the cemetery by veteran watchers Vivian Wagner, 52, of Winton Hills and Ruth Neupauer, 71, of Wyoming. “I have a tape but it's a little overwhelming.”

        Mrs. Wagner smiles. She's been doing this since she was a teen-ager, marveling at the complexities of bird behavior. She's contributed to the Audubon's nationwide count for years.

        “About 300 starlings, 50 robins, one tufted titmouse, one golden-crossed kinglet, a cute little guy that one,” says Mrs. Wagner, her hands curled around binoculars. “All that backyard clutter you hear is robins and starlings.”

        Asked why she bundles up on a chilly December morning and walks through a cemetery in search of birds, she laughs.

        “Every year I think, "Why am I doing it?'” Ms. Wagner says. “I have presents to wrap, the mantel isn't decorated, my family thinks I'm nuts.

        “But by the end of the day, it's been one of the great de-stressors.”

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