Find out what Project FeederWatch is, its history, and more
Find out how you FeederWatch, when you can FeederWatch, and what you'll need to do to get started
Review these instructions carefully before you count and enter data
Find out about types of feeders and types of foods, and where to place your feeder
Feeding Birds FAQs
Explore the winter distribution, food, and feeder preferences of common feeder birds.
Find out about color and plumage variations, bald heads, and deformed bills
Unusual Birds Gallery
Find out about bird disease and identifying the signs of bird disease
Sick Birds Gallery
Find out how to identify birds and download identification tools
Learn how to help birds as they seek out food sources, nesting habitat, protection, and more
Find educational resources for teachers, group leaders, and families
Find an article archive packed with lots of great bird study information
Learn about house finch eye disease
Review content from current and past BirdSpotter photo contests
Keep up to date with the latest FeederWatch happenings
These are exemplary FeederWatchers!
Send us your photos! Show us your count site, your birds, or you watching your site with loved ones!
Visit our live FeederWatch feedercams!
Cornell Lab of Ornithology feeders
Ontario (winter only)
See what birds occur the most by region
Explore species by state/province
See where FeederWatchers are
Graphs of regional population trends and distributions
Explore papers that have used FeederWatch data
Lab scientists analyze the data submitted by FeederWatch participants.
See birds well outside their winter range submitted to Project FeederWatch.
Start here for data entry and personal data review and exploration
Keep live track of your counts using the FeederWatch mobile app
Joan Wiitanen
Houghton, MI, USA
Very rare indeed to have had one adult years ago but now a small one wants to move into a plant stand my hubby made out of an old woodpecker hole tree.
Woodpeckers & Sapsuckers
Why does a hatchling/fledgling downy/redheaded woodpecker continually chirp non stop? The parent bird flies to the nest cavity and stays in the general area, so…
Hi Catherine, making noise is instinct – just as a human baby cries when its needs are unmet. Birds normally chirp when they’re hungry – it’s a way of saying “hey! bring food over here!” Given that baby birds need to eat constantly – often every 10-20 minutes, there’s little time spent being quiet. There are also some reports of birds making noises to deter predators. Our sister project, NestWatch, heard from a participant about young Northern Flicker nestlings making a sound that was very similar to bees buzzing. One (untested) hypothesis is that this sound may deter predators that would otherwise prey on the nestlings. In any case, as the young get older and fledge the nest, they tend to quiet down, though you may still hear recently-fledged young begging parents for food as they follow them around for the next several weeks, learning how to fly and become independent.
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