Instruction summary

Please refer to our Handbook & Instructions, mailed to all new participants, before submitting any data. Detailed instructions can also be found here.

1. Sign up – If you have not yet signed up, join today! During the season, it takes a few weeks from when you sign up for your kit to arrive with your ID number and for your ID number to be activated in Your Data.
2. Select your count site – Choose a portion of your yard that is easy to monitor, typically an area with feeders that is visible from one vantage point.
3. Choose your count days – Select two consecutive days as often as once a week (less often is fine). Leave at least five days when you do not count between each of your two-day counts.
4. How to count – Watch your feeders as much or a little as you want over your selected count days. Record the maximum number of each species visible at any one time during your two-day count. Keep one tally across both days. Do not add your counts together!
5. What to count – Please count
   • all of the individuals of each species in view at any one time
   • birds attracted to food or water you provided
   • birds attracted to fruits or plantings you maintain
   • hawks and other predatory birds that are attracted by the birds at your feeders

   But do not count

   • birds that simply fly over the count site, such as Canada Geese or Sandhill Cranes.
   • birds seen on non-count days
6. Report your counts – Submit counts through the Your Data section of our website.

All counts are important

FeederWatch participants often stop counting their birds because they believe that their counts are not important. Typically they are seeing the same birds every week, or they are seeing very few or no birds. While some FeederWatchers see amazing birds, a wide variety of species, or large numbers of birds, most FeederWatchers see low numbers of what might be characterized as “predictable” birds. These counts are the heart of FeederWatch. Focusing on the extreme cases would provide a biased view of bird populations, and ignoring the common birds could be a major mistake. While we are all thrilled by unusual sightings and high counts, it’s the everyday observations of common birds that are so important for monitoring bird populations. Learn more about why every count matters.

Important Dates

The project always starts on the second Saturday of November and runs for 21 weeks. The 2019–2020 FeederWatch season runs from Saturday, November 9 to Friday, April 3. New participants will be able to log into online data entry and set up their count site on November 1. The last day to start a two-day count is Thursday, April 2.

Your Research Kit

All new Project FeederWatch participants receive a research kit in the mail. Renewing participants can choose not to receive a kit.

New participant kit

• Welcome Letter
• FeederWatch Handbook & Instructions, with bird feeding information and complete project instructions
• Full-color poster of birds commonly seen at feeders in winter, painted in their winter plumage by noted bird artist Larry McQueen. Birds in the east are featured on one side and birds in the west are on the other side (see pdf of a combined mini version)
• Bird Watching Days Calendar, to help you keep track of your FeederWatch count days

Resource Download:

Handbook

Download

Renewing participant kit

• Welcome letter
• Bird Watching Days Calendar, to help you keep track of your FeederWatch count days

No kit option

Choose this option when you renew if you would rather not receive a kit or a print copy of Winter Bird Highlights (this option is only available to renewing participants). Please note that you will receive no project updates or reminders unless you subscribe to our electronic newsletter. Be sure to keep track of your ID number, which can be found near your mailing address on any mailing from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

FeederWatch Mobile App

The FeederWatch app is available for both Apple and Android mobile devices. You can use the FeederWatch app to keep track of your counts and submit your counts directly to our database. The app is connected to the Cornell Lab’s All About Birds online guide with detailed species information, including photos, identification tips, natural history, and a range map. You can also access FeederWatch’s common feeder birds interactive tool to see which birds prefer which foods in any region of the U.S. or Canada.

Why is There a Fee?

Why is there a fee to participate in Project FeederWatch?

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada are non-profit organizations supported primarily by participant and membership fees. Project FeederWatch would not be possible without the support of our participants—scientifically and financially. FeederWatch’s participant fees pay for website and database maintenance, data analysis, participant support, printing and shipping project materials, and dissemination of information learned from FeederWatch data. The fees also help cover the cost of publishing a year-end report, Winter Bird Highlights. While FeederWatch staff constantly seek other sources of funding, the reality is that without participant fees, the project would have to shut down.