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
Karen Eadie
Peshastin, WA, USA
One June morning when I was getting ready for work, I heard a huge ruckus out in the backyard. Every type of bird and even the chipmunks and Douglas Squirrels were screaming. That usually means a predator. I looked carefully before stepping out the back door (recent bear and cougar attacks on my mind). I live backed up to 40 acres of undeveloped forest. The screaming birds were flying around in a stand of small maple trees 45 feet from the back door. I looked for coyotes and the neighbor’s cats in the thicket – nothing. I checked the ground for snakes – we had a 3 foot garter snake grab some Junco babies last year – no snake. Then I looked where the birds were flying and there, sitting on a limb, was a little Northern Pygmy Owl holding a female House Finch in his talons. His soon-to-be breakfast was almost as large as he was. This is an owl that hunts during the daytime. My husband had heard it hooting the previous day but didn’t see it. We had previously seen one 2 years ago when it was feeding on a quail on our driveway. The robin was the most aggressive, literally hitting the owl on top of its head several times as it flew by it. The owl sat there getting screamed at and bombed by several different birds, including getting buzzed by a red-throated hummingbird, until it flew to another tree where he was more covered by leaves. The birds were still flying around it and yelling at it when I left for work about 20 minutes later.
Category 8: Potpourri
Tag:
Wow, what a capture!
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