Wild Bird Feeding Study

This page describes some of the research being conducted by Victoria (Vicki) Martin, a Rose Postdoctoral Research Associate, at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Dr. Martin is interested in ways the Lab engages members of the public in scientific research (i.e. citizen science such as Project FeederWatch), and how science is communicated to, and with, the public.

There are three main projects Dr. Martin is working on:

1. Engaging young adults who feed wild birds (known here as The Feeder Flock project),
2. How perceived competence in bird identification influences engagement in citizen science (known here as the Competence Study),
3. Effective communication of new knowledge arising from citizen science (known here as the Citizen Science Communication Study).

Updates will be published on this page as they become available.

Update September 6, 2018

Competence Study Prize Drawing winners

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our survey on people’s confidence in their bird identification skills and interest in Project FeederWatch. And congratulations to our three lucky winners of the bird packages. The Lab’s Director, John Fitzpatrick, drew the winners on September 6, 2018. All winners have been notified.

About The Feeder Flock project

From 2017-2019 the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (“the Lab”) at Cornell University is conducting research to understand how they can better serve people who feed wild birds in ways that benefit both scientific research and society. This research has been approved by Cornell University’s Institutional Review Board (Protocol #1708007362).

What the study is about?

The purpose of this study is to learn more about:

1.  people’s motivations to feed wild birds;
2.  to what extent people are interested in: (a) learning more about birds, (b) counting birds at their feeders, and (c) providing bird count information to bird scientists;
3.  how people like to share information about the birds they see, and birds in general, with other people.

Who can participate in the study?

In the first phase, we interviewed 72 people who:

• are currently feeding wild birds in the United States;
• are 18 to 50 years old.

Why not older than 50? The answer is simple–the majority of the wonderful people who engage with and support the Lab are in the “over 50s” age group. We will continue to work closely with our current supporters and affiliates, but we would also like to understand how we can better serve and involve younger audiences in bird research in the future.

In the second phase, we will narrow the target audience to 18-35 year olds as this group face unique challenges to their wild bird feeding activities and engagement in citizen science.

Preliminary results

Click on the image below to view our infographic showing the preliminary results of the interviews.

Participation, privacy, and confidentiality

The answers people provide will be kept confidential and we will not share contact or identifying information with anyone else. In addition, we recognize that taking part in this study is completely voluntary. People may refuse to participate before the study begins, discontinue at any time, or skip any questions if they choose to do so.

Questions?

If you have any further questions, please contact Dr. Victoria (Vicki) Martin at vym2@cornell.edu, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850.