Project Overview

Project FeederWatch turns your love of feeding birds into scientific discoveries. FeederWatch is a November-April survey of birds that visit backyards, nature centers, community areas, and other locales in North America. While most people focus on birds coming to bird feeding stations, you don’t even need a feeder! All you need is an area from which you like to watch birds. Plus, the schedule is completely flexible: you can count every week or once all winter, for as much or as little time as you like.

When you join FeederWatch you will receive:

• Tools to track and learn about your birds on our website or mobile app
• Our year-end summary, Winter Bird Highlights
• Our double-sided poster of eastern and western common feeder birds (optional)
• Our calendar (optional)
• Digital access to the Cornell Lab’s Living Bird magazine (U.S. participants)

Why is there a fee?

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada are non-profit organizations supported primarily by participant and membership fees. The annual participation fee is $18 for U.S. residents, and Canadians can participate by donating any amount to Birds Canada. Project FeederWatch would not be possible without the support of our participants—scientifically and financially. FeederWatch’s participant fees cover website and database maintenance, data analysis, participant support, printing and shipping project materials, and dissemination of information learned from FeederWatch data. While FeederWatch staff constantly seek other sources of funding, the reality is that without participant fees, the project would have to shut down.

Our values

As a program that engages participants across the U.S. and Canada, we strive to ensure that Project FeederWatch is accessible and welcoming to every person. FeederWatch is conducted by people of all skill levels and backgrounds, including children, families, individuals, classrooms, retired persons, youth groups, nature centers, and bird clubs.

Partnerships and funding

Project FeederWatch is operated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada with funding nearly entirely provided by our participants and members. At times, Project FeederWatch has received grant funding for special projects from the U.S. National Science Foundation. We also thank Wild Birds Unlimited for sponsorship funding since 2016!

What do FeederWatch data tell us?

When thousands of FeederWatchers in communities across North America count birds and send their tallies to the FeederWatch database, the result is a treasure trove of numbers, which FeederWatch scientists analyze to draw a picture of winter bird abundance and distribution.

FeederWatch data show which bird species visit feeders at thousands of locations across the continent every winter. The data also indicate how many individuals of each species are seen. This information can be used to measure changes in the winter ranges and abundances of bird species over time.

Why are FeederWatch data important?

With each season, FeederWatch increases in importance as a unique monitoring tool for more than 100 bird species that winter in North America.

What sets FeederWatch apart from other monitoring programs is the detailed picture that FeederWatch data provide about weekly changes in bird distribution and abundance across the United States and Canada. Importantly, FeederWatch data tell us where birds are as well as where they are not. This crucial information enables scientists to piece together the most accurate population maps.

Because FeederWatchers count the number of individuals of each species they see several times throughout the winter, FeederWatch data are extremely powerful for detecting and explaining gradual changes in the wintering ranges of many species. In short, FeederWatch data are important because they provide information about bird population biology that cannot be detected by any other available method.

How do scientists know when a species is at risk?

Population sizes of many species vary from year to year. Downward trends for two, three, or even more years may not indicate actual population declines; in fact, such trends may simply reflect short-term weather patterns or other variations in natural food supply and abundance. Sometimes, however, the data reveal a long-term population decline of a particular species. When bird population scientists become aware of such a trend, they evaluate what they know about the species, its habitat, and other factors that may be causing its decline. For example, is the species’ food in short supply? Has the amount of suitable habitat changed on the species’ breeding or wintering grounds? Has a potentially competitive species shown a population increase?

For example, FeederWatch data from Florida showed that the winter population of the Painted Bunting declined steadily since the 1980s. This information, combined with complementary data from the Breeding Bird Survey (showing that breeding populations of Painted Buntings have declined at a rate of about 4 percent per year) led the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission to begin a systematic monitoring program of bunting populations so they could learn how to protect them.

So, by combining all they know about a species from monitoring data and intensive research projects, scientists can begin to understand why a species is declining, and to make recommendations for its recovery before it is too late.

How are FeederWatch data used?

Project FeederWatch data are used to document and understand the distribution and abundance of birds that visit feeders in North America. In 2017 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Project FeederWatch, the Cornell Lab’s Living Bird magazine published an article highlighting some of the things researchers have learned from FeederWatch data over the years.

The massive amounts of data collected by FeederWatchers across the continent help scientists understand

• Long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance
• The timing and extent of winter irruptions of winter finches and other species.
• Expansions or contractions in the winter ranges of feeder birds
• The kinds of foods and environmental factors that attract birds
• How disease is spread among birds that visit feeders

FeederWatch information and results are regularly published in

• Scientific Journals
  • The Condor
  • The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• Regional Birding, Garden, and Nature Newsletters
  • Living Bird News, newsletter of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
  • BirdWatch Canada, newsletter of Birds Canada
• National Magazines
  • Audubon Magazine
  • Birder’s World
  • BirdWatcher’s Digest
  • Birds and Blooms
• Newspapers nationwide

FeederWatch data were used for a book about backyard birds called Birds at Your Feeder. Sample pages of the book can be seen on Google Books.

FeederWatch data are also used to help Project FeederWatch participants and Lab of Ornithology members learn more about feeder birds through the project’s annual publication, Winter Bird Highlights, which reports results from each season.

How did FeederWatch begin?

Project FeederWatch had its roots in Ontario in the mid-1970s. Through Canada’s Long Point Bird Observatory, Erica Dunn established the Ontario Bird Feeder Survey in 1976. After a successful 10-year run with more than 500 participants, its organizers realized that only a broader survey could accurately monitor the large-scale movements of birds. Therefore, Long Point Bird Observatory decided to expand the survey to the United States.

Realizing they would need a strong partner in this venture, Long Point approached the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and a perfect match was soon made. The Cornell Lab’s connection to thousands of bird enthusiasts across the United States, its sophisticated computer systems, and Long Point’s experience at managing feeder surveys made Project FeederWatch a hit from the start.

In the winter of 1987-88, more than 4,000 people enrolled. FeederWatchers represented every state in the U.S. except Hawaii and most provinces in Canada, especially Ontario. The dream to systematically survey winter feeder birds over a wide geographic range was in place.

Since then the number of project participants has grown significantly as Project FeederWatch continues to be a cooperative research project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada (formerly the Long Point Bird Observatory and later Bird Studies Canada).

Today, FeederWatch is a proven tool for monitoring the distribution and abundance of winter bird populations.

“Project FeederWatch taught me so much in such a short time. I loved feeding and watching the birds before, but now it is much more interesting and useful.” Deborah Yesko, Cornelius, NC.

“Thank you for providing us with a motivation to really pay attention to our local bird populations. Winter weekends, especially snowy ones, go by very quickly when watching for birds!” Kathy and Steve Olsen, Holden, MA.

“We always wondered what kinds of birds were coming to our feeders, but it was hard to identify them with the books we have. Project FeederWatch was a fun way to learn their names, and your poster made it easy.” Christopher Love, Latrobe, PA.

“Not only is our son learning from FeederWatch, but so are we! We have been amazed by what he can tell us about the birds at our feeder.” Allison McLendon, Irmo, SC.

“When I became seriously injured in a car accident, I thought I would be unable to do FeederWatch. But I managed to maneuver my wheelchair to my ‘bird watching window’ to do my counts. It meant the world to me to be able to participate.” Elizabeth Mescavage, Northampton, PA.

“I have 144 sixth grade students who FeederWatch. They are thrilled that scientists really use their data.” Bob Welch, 6th grade teacher, Greenville, OH.

“Project FeederWatch gives our visitors another fun reason to bird watch at our nature center. Our volunteers work hard to count and record our birds, and they love it.” Rebecca Hill-Larsen, Martha Lafite Thompson Nature Sanctuary, Liberty, MO.

Who are the people behind FeederWatch?

Participants across North America are at the core of Project FeederWatch. But besides the army of people collecting information on birds at their feeders, several people in the United States and Canada are responsible for archiving and analyzing the data and the day-to-day operation of the project. Project FeederWatch is administered in the United States by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and in Canada by Birds Canada.

Olivia Sanderfoot, Project Leader, U.S.: Olivia joined Project FeederWatch in 2025. She manages all aspects of the project including reviewing flagged records, analyzing data, and writing scientific journal articles.

Heidi Faulkner, Lisa Bourgouis, and Anne Marie Johnson, Project Assistants, U.S.: Heidi, Lisa, and Anne Marie help keep FeederWatch running smoothly. They write and edit printed materials, web pages, and eNews messages; answer email, phone calls, and letters; and much more. In addition, Heidi coordinates and maintains our Project FeederWatch Facebook page, Lisa helps manage our membership lists, and Anne Marie makes sure that research kits, renewal reminders, and other materials are designed, printed, inventoried, and mailed out.

Olivia Carvalho, Project Leader, Canada: Olivia joined Project FeederWatch at Birds Canada in the summer of 2024. She supervises all aspects of the project in Canada, including corresponding with participants, reviewing flagged records, writing FeederWatch reports, as well as moderating the FeederWatch Canada Facebook group.

Tracy Barber, Karla Falk, Kris Dobney, and Rosie Kirton, Project Assistants, Canada: Tracy, Karla, Kris, and Rosie provide participant support, mail out FeederWatch kits, inventory materials, answer calls from supporters, and more.

Volunteers: The successful operation of FeederWatch is dependent upon the generous help of volunteers who help us in a variety of ways. We are deeply indebted to the service our volunteers provide.

Additional Staff Support

The scientific and educational aspects of FeederWatch are overseen in the U.S. by the directors of the center for Engagement in Science and Nature, David Bonter and Mya Thompson.

We are grateful to Wesley Hochachka for the tremendous scientific support he provides.

The FeederWatch database is managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and the website, online data entry, and mobile application are developed by the Cornell Lab’s Engagement Tech team.

The colorful and informative materials you may see have been written by project staff, but the Communications team at the Cornell Lab often edit and design the materials before they hit the press. They also distribute press releases and help to promote the project.

FeederWatch is truly a team effort. Many thanks to those who are involved every step of the way!