Welcome to Project FeederWatch Count the birds at your feeders and - - PDF document

1

Welcome to Project FeederWatch

Count the birds at your feeders and become a citizen scientist

White-breasted Nuthatch by Steve Delloff

All across North America, thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds are participating in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s bird projects, including Project FeederWatch—these people are called “citizen scientists.”

2

What is Citizen Science?

• Involves the public in

professional research

• Answers large-scale

scientific questions

• Promotes

environmental awareness and scientific literacy

Classroom participants and Lab of Ornithology scientists Project participant Jamie Wright

From backyards and city streets to remote forests, citizen scientists represent the world’s largest research team. Because professional scientists cannot be everywhere at once, citizen scientists act as the eyes and ears for professional ornithologists. Data collected by citizen scientists are being used in a multitude of bird research and conservation efforts. Whether you are young or old, a seasoned birder or a novice, you can help the birds by becoming a citizen scientist.

3

What is Project FeederWatch?

• Studying the distribution

and abundance of feeder birds since 1987

• United States & Canada
• Nearly 16,000

participants annually

Points represent Project FeederWatch participants

One of the longest running citizen-science programs at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is Project FeederWatch. Do you like to watch the birds that visit your backyard bird feeder? Perhaps you even keep a list of these birds. Although keeping track of the birds at your feeders may seem like nothing more than a relaxing hobby, you are actually collecting important information. By sending counts of the birds seen at your feeders to the Lab of Ornithology’s Project FeederWatch, you will be helping researchers to learn more about the distribution and abundance of feeder birds. Project FeederWatch is an annual survey of North American bird populations that visit backyard bird feeders in winter. Since 1987, thousands of bird watchers from across the United States and Canada have participated in Project FeederWatch.

4

FeederWatch data are used to….

Track the spread of disease Monitor bird movements Measure feeder bird abundance

0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3

Year

Common Redpoll by R. Belhumeur Diseased House Finch

This partnership between backyard bird watchers and ornithologists has resulted in a wealth of information, helping to increase our scientific understanding of feeder-bird populations. Data from FeederWatchers have helped scientists learn about changes in the distribution and abundance of feeder birds over time; expansions and contractions in the winter ranges of birds; how disease is spread through bird populations; and the kinds of habitats and foods that attract birds.

5

How to FeederWatch

• 1. Set up count site
• 2. Choose count days
• 3. Count the birds
• 4. Submit data online

Black-capped Chickadee by C. Johnson Anna’s Hummingbird by H. Sareen

Although the data that participants send to Project FeederWatch are used in rigorous scientific investigations, participating in the project is fairly simple, involving just a few basic steps. The following slides will take you step-by- step through the FeederWatch process. As you are watching, please consider joining the other 16,000 FeederWatchers across the continent. The greater the number of citizen scientists who contribute to the FeederWatch database, the more we can learn about winter bird populations.

6

Step 1: Set up your count site

Your count site is

• Comprised of bird-

friendly habitat

• Where your

feeders are located

• Easily viewed

American Goldfinches and House Finch by C. Longworth

The first step is to pick out your FeederWatch “count site,” a convenient place for you to observe and count birds, such as the area outside your kitchen window. Project FeederWatch is interested in the birds that are attracted by food you have provided, be it in the form of seed in feeders, or plantings such as berry bushes. FeederWatch count sites are not limited to a yard—you may count birds at any location with bird feeders, such as a nature center, a school, or a retirement home.

7

Step 2: Choose your count days

• Count as often as
• nce a week from

November–April

• Observation time

is flexible

• Keep track of time

spent observing

The FeederWatch season runs from early November through early April. Count periods are two consecutive days, during which you count the birds at your count site. You may count birds every week (for example on Saturday and Sunday), or less frequently. Watching your feeders does not have to be a full-time activity—some people can only watch for 15 minutes each day; others are lucky enough to be able to spend hours observing. Just be sure that you keep track of the time you spend watching your feeders.

8

Step 3: Count the birds

You should count

• Birds attracted to

the feeders and plantings in your count site

• Predatory birds

attracted by birds at your feeders (hawks, shrikes, roadrunners)

Birds on nyjer seed feeder by B. Brockman Cooper’s Hawk by S. Wright

Birds at seed feeders, suet cages, and bird baths should all be counted, as well as birds feeding from the vegetation in your count site, such as fruiting trees and nectar-producing flowers. Very often birds of prey will be attracted by the activity at your feeders— these should also be included in your counts.

9

Step 3: Count the birds

…but do not count:

• Birds that fly over

your count site

• Birds that you
• bserve on non-

count days

Canada Geese by J. Surman

Although it may be tempting to record interesting birds that you see outside

• f your count site or on non-count days, FeederWatchers must follow the

same rules when counting. This uniformity in counting methods ensures that the data you submit can be used for scientific research.

10

How to count

Record the maximum number of each species seen at one time …

Day 1: Two Evening Grosbeaks Day 2: Four Evening Grosbeaks

Report four Evening Grosbeaks

• R. Riopelle
• M. Sorlie

The FeederWatch counting method is designed to provide an “index of abundance” for each bird species. When you see a species feeding within your count site on your count day, you will record the maximum number of individuals in view at one time on your tally sheet. For example, if there are two Evening Grosbeaks at your feeder on day one of your count period, you will record these. If on day two of your count you see four grosbeaks, you will revise your tally sheet to reflect the larger number. At the end of your two-day count period, this number becomes your final tally for that species. In this example, you would record four Evening Grosbeaks.

11

Step 4: Submit your data

Enter the maximum number of each species seen at one time during your two-day count.

At the end of your two count days, you will transfer the data you recorded on your tally sheet to the online bird count form. Even if you are unfamiliar with computers, you will find that the FeederWatch data-entry system is very simple to use. If you do not have access to a computer, paper data forms are also available.

12

Weather and Effort

How much time did you spend watching your feeders? What was the weather like during your counts?

American Goldfinch in snow storm by C. Johnson

FeederWatch researchers also want to know the predominant weather conditions during your counts and how much time you spent watching your feeders, as these factors will affect the number of birds seen. Very often, snow storms results in a fairly busy count site, as the birds have trouble finding food from natural sources. Rain can sometimes decrease feeder activity as the birds seek shelter from the weather.

13

Personal Count Summary

Mary’s FeederWatch Counts 29 20 19 Total Number

• f Individuals

3.7 2 5 4 Dark-eyed Junco 8 10 6 8 House Finch 2.7 2 3 3 Blue Jay 8.3 15 6 4 Mourning Dove Average Group Size

• Dec. 18
• Dec. 10
• Nov. 26

Species Name A benefit of the FeederWatch online data entry system is that the information you enter is automatically tabulated and displayed in an easy-to-read format, such as the “Personal Count Summary” page seen here. FeederWatch participants find this feature particularly fun, as they can compare counts throughout the winter. After you have been FeederWatching for more than one year, the summary pages also allow you to compare counts from the same week in different years.

14

View changes in bird distributions over time

Results

2001 2002

Your bird counts are added to the FeederWatch database, where they are used to track the distribution and abundance of birds across North America. For instance, FeederWatch data allow us to track Common Redpoll movements from year to year. Some birds, such as the Common Redpoll, spend their winters in remote areas of the Canadian boreal forests. In years when these forests produce a smaller seed crop, the birds will spend their winters farther south, where the food supply is better. From the maps seen here, we can infer that there must have been an adequate food supply in the far north of North America in 2001. In the following winter though, we can see that the redpolls have extended their winter range south into the northern portions of the United States. This is just

• ne example of how FeederWatch data can be used to study the movement
• f bird populations.

15 5.8 4.3 6.0 2.7 3.1 4.2 Average Group Size 89 American Goldfinch 6 91 Dark-eyed Junco 5 92 House Finch 4 94 Black-capped Chickadee 3 95 Northern Cardinal 2 96 Mourning Dove 1 % Feeders Visited Common Name Rank The Most Frequently Reported Birds Winter 2002–2003

Indiana

Dark-eyed Junco

#5

From the FeederWatch data that participants send in, lists of the most frequently reported birds for each state and FeederWatch Region are

• compiled. It is interesting to compare these to previous years’ lists to see

how the rankings change.

16

Sick and Unusual Birds

1994 1996 Tracking the spread of House Finch Eye Disease

As a FeederWatcher, you may see a diseased bird or a bird with some unusual features at your feeder. FeederWatch scientists are interested in learning more about avian diseases, plumage variations, and genetic

• abnormalities. In fact, it was FeederWatch participants who first documented

the appearance of mycoplasmal conjunctivitis (House Finch Eye Disease) in House Finches in 1994. FeederWatch data were further used to track the spread of this disease, as can be seen by comparing the disease prevalence maps from 1994 and 1996. The data that FeederWatchers submitted resulted in funding for a new citizen science project at the Lab of Ornithology, the House Finch Disease Survey.

17

Blue Jay by C. Flick

Rare Birds

Clay-colored Robin, NM

Calliope Hummingbird by J. Cavanagh Harris’s Sparrow by C. Johnson Baltimore Oriole by B. Kealty Clay-colored Robin by R. M. Harty

FeederWatch participants also occasionally document rare birds for their

• location. Rare birds are birds that are out of their typical winter range and

include introduced species, species that are expanding their range, lingering migrants, and vagrants. Some of these reports are particularly exciting, like the Clay-colored Robin that appeared at the home of a FeederWatcher in Jemez Springs, New Mexico, in late December 2001. This species is normally found in Mexico, with its typical range barely reaching the southern tip of Texas. According to the New Mexico Bird Records Committee, this species had never before been recorded in the state.

18

When you sign up…

You will receive

• Instruction

booklet

• Handbook
• Poster
• Calendar

The Project FeederWatch season runs from November to April. If you sign up, you will receive a project kit in the mail that contains an instruction booklet for online data-entry, a handbook outlining all you need to know about winter bird-feeding, a colorful poster to help you identify the common feeder-birds in your area, and a handy calendar to help you keep track of your FeederWatch count days. You will also receive a one-year subscription to BirdScope, the newsletter of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

19

Project FeederWatch is a joint research and education project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Bird Studies Canada, Audubon, and Nature Canada.

Online at: www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw

Signing up for Project FeederWatch is easy…

By mail: Write a check for $15 made

• ut to Project FeederWatch and

send it to: PFW Cornell Lab of Ornithology PO Box 11 Ithaca, NY 14851-0011 By phone: 1-800-843-BIRD

FeederWatch is for anyone interested in birds and who wants to learn more about the birds at their feeders. It’s a great activity to do with your family or

• n your own, and best of all, it’s fun!

Project FeederWatch is a non-profit program that relies on support from participant fees. Your $15 fee will cover the cost of producing and mailing the research kit, use of the online data entry system, and staff support. Members of the Lab of Ornithology can become a FeederWatcher for $12. Please consider becoming part of the world’s largest research team by joining Project FeederWatch.