HALIFAX – Lilian Hougan-Veenema is no stranger to bird watching, but her eyes still lit up as she watched a bald eagle fly over Halifax Harbour on Saturday.

The seven-year-old and her father, Glen Hougan, made the trek up to the roof of the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market to try to spot a few feathered creatures.

“They are really cute,” said Hougan-Veenema of the eagle.

“Over the summer, we like bird watching,” said Glen Hougan, mentioning Hougan-Veenema’s mother and grandfather are both “birders,” a term used to describe a birdwatcher.

The Nova Scotia Nature Trust had a telescope set up on the roof Saturday morning to encourage people to take part in next weekend’s 15th annual Great Backyard Bird Count.

Karen McKendry, the conservation coordinator at the trust, said the great count is a citizen science event where people from across North America contribute to an online repertoire of bird sightings.

She said the information is used to understand bird population levels and distribution.

“That way scientists can get more data and learn about more things than they could… on their own because they get all this free contributed data from across North America at the exact same time,” said McKendry.

“It could be when you’re walking to work, or walking to school, or on your lunch break.”

Although the rainy weather forced birdwatchers to the enclosed area of the roof, many were still able to spot a few gulls and red-breasted mergansers. At times, a bald eagle could be seen perched on the chimney of a house on George’s Island, appearing like a watchdog over the harbour.

McKendry was also hoping Saturday’s birdwatching event would raise awareness about the endangered piping plover, which nests on Maritime beaches during the summer. Dressed in a piping plover costume, she said conserving the species is as easy as roping off sections of the beach while the birds are nesting.

Nova Scotians who participated in the 2011 count saw 118 different species of birds, a news release said.