The birds are returning to South Florida, so the bird lovers are too.

The thing that makes Palm Beach County a paradise for birdwatchers, Vallerie Brauer, a member of the Audubon Society of the Everglades, says, “is that we have the woods, the wetlands, and the ocean here.” Each habitat attracts its own species.

The annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count just wrapped up, and thousands of people volunteered to turn their eyes to the sky to spy as many species as possible. Researchers, ornithologists, conservation biologists, and bird lovers use the data to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America. Last year an estimated 63,000 participants counted more than 60 million birds. The first Christmas Bird Count was held on Christmas Day in 1900, making this event the longest-running citizen-scientist wildlife survey in the world.

Learn more about the joys of birding at the meeting of the Audubon Society of the Everglades at 7:30 p.m. today at Pine Jog Environmental Education Center, 6301 W. Summit Blvd., in West Palm Beach. Clive Pinnock, manager of Okeeheelee Nature Center, will speak. Info: 561-742-7791.

Some of the best places for bird-watching are right in your backyard. Here are five places to try:

1. Wakodahatchee Wetlands, 13026 Jog Road, Delray Beach. Info: (561) 641-3429; www.pbcgov.com/waterutilities/wakodahatchee. Brauer, who has been watching birds for more than 20 years, says Wakodahatchee is her go-to site. “There’s lots of nesting going on here now.”
2. Okeeheelee Park, 7715 Forest Hills Blvd., West Palm Beach. Info: 561-233-1400. Two and ½ miles of trails where sandhill cranes, painted buntings and wood and ring-necked ducks are plentiful. The nature center offers programs for kids and families and has birds and other wildlife on display.
3. Green Cay Nature Center and Wetlands, 12800 Hagen Ranch Road, Boynton Beach. Info: (561) 966-7000. Walk the 1.4 mile elevated boardwalk into the wetlands, then visit the nature center’s live animal exhibit.
4. Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge, 10216 Lee Road, Boynton Beach. Info: 561-734-8303; fws.gov/loxahatchee/ “In any given year, as many as 257 species of birds may use the Refuge’s diverse wetland habitats,” the refuge web site says.
5. John D. MacArthur Beach State Park, 10900 Jack Nicklaus Drive, North Palm Beach. The shore and wading birds are plentiful and the park offers classes for beginners. Two birding classes are offered Saturday: Families Understanding Nature (FUN) teaches Bird Basics for families from 10 a.m. to noon, and Birding at MacArthur Park is offered for adults at 3 p.m. Info: 561-776-7449, ext. 104, or 561-624-6952.

Interested in a Sunday drive? Here are two places off the beaten path:

Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail. Fall and winter are the best times to take this 40-mile auto tour of the lake’s northwest rim. You’re sure to see herons, egrets, and wintering waterfowl along the rim of the lake and in open water. Dry prairies provide habitat for crested caracaras, burrowing owls and sandhill cranes.

Everglades Stormwater Treatment Area (STA). Located at the east end of Deer Fence Road, 27 miles south of Clewiston in eastern Hendry County. Tours are planned for Jan. 19 and 26, Feb. 2, March 2 and April 13 and 27. To register, call 863-674-0695 or 863-517-0202, or send an e-mail to sta5birding@embarqmail.com