What is FeederWatch?

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!