BISMARCK — It’s been a record warm winter that has kept the snowbirds around. Not humans but real birds. Each year, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department conducts a midwinter waterfowl survey in early January. With a warm winter and no snow on the ground, it’s estimated 300,000 geese stayed in North Dakota this winter. That’s 80,000 more than the previous record. Typically between 5,000 and 10,000 mallards are counted during the annual survey. This year, 43,000 were counted. With Canadian Geese already coming north from Texas, biologists say it will be interesting to watch the bird population the rest of the spring. The hot topic for biologists right now is whether the record number of birds will increase the risk of bird flu.