Data Entry Contest: What are you most excited for this season?
For the sixth season in a row, Project FeederWatch and our sponsor Wild Birds Unlimited are rewarding registered FeederWatchers with the chance to win prizes. After entering bird counts (data) into the FeederWatch website, participants have the opportunity to share a story, memory, or tip by clicking the “Enter to Win” button on the Count Summary page. This year, we’re randomly selecting two winners per prompt. Our first Data Entry contest prompt was:
What are you most excited for during this season of FeederWatch? Tell us why you love to participate!
Congratulations to our winners, Judith Harvey and Geri Cooper!
Judith shared:
I am always eager to participate in FeederWatch because it’s rewarding to observe the birds at my feeders with a purpose and because it’s important for preservation of Earth’s ecology. The decrease in bird numbers is a bit concerning this year; the robins are a month later passing through. I hope that part of the decrease is due to other feeders in my area, but I have yet to confirm that. I think some might be due to the absence of my feeders during the time we took them down to help prevent the spread of the disease this summer. Time will tell. I hear the Pileated Woodpeckers but they have yet to visit the suet this Fall.
Bird populations will often fluctuate from year to year and at different times of the year. Warm weather, predator presence, and an abundance of natural food may make it seem like there are less birds at your feeders, while colder weather can often encourage birds to visit (especially if there is a layer of snow on the ground)! If you’d like to know how the birds are doing in your local area, check out our State/Province Summaries for the current season to see how commonly each species is being reported.
Geri is also excited for the current season:
We are always so pleased when we see “our” returning birds. So far we’ve seen our old pals – White-throated Sparrows, Townsend’s Warblers, and Yellow-rumped Warblers.
It’s always a pleasure to see the species that spent their summers elsewhere! If you’re looking to attract a specific species to your count site, try checking our Common Feeder Birds tool. You can use this tool to find out what birds are attracted to the food and feeder types that you have already, or you can look at the preferences for your target species, and tailor your count site accordingly.
Thanks to everyone who participated and shared their stories – we wish we could share them all! We will pick two winners each month through April 2022. Check out the contest page after you submit your count on FeederWatch.org to view the next story prompt, and stay tuned for the announcement of our next winners on Tuesday, January 11, 2022! Using the app? You can access the Count Summary page which contains the link to the contest by signing in to our website, editing a count, and then re-submitting it. Email feederwatch@cornell.edu with questions.
Interested in becoming a FeederWatcher? Join the fun now!
One comment on “Data Entry Contest: What are you most excited for this season?”
I have a Berwicks wren that knows when I feed my dog and cats and do cooking. I leave my doors open and the little wren has developed an unnatural taste for scrambled egg, chopped chicken breast, and (recently) Parmesan cheese that I sometimes feed my elderly dog! He/she will even sit on the dog’s and cats’ dishes and fly around my kitchen, check out my stove and intimidate the elderly cats and dog. I put out organic bird food of various sorts that it ignores in favor of my and the pets’ food. I like things to be wild but this little guy is really pushy and appears to be extremely healthy. We have a huge yard with lots of natural food but it has chosen my kitchen as a kind of bird deli. I also have a Stellas Jay family that for the past two years have built a huge nest in my patio umbrella right over my deck chairs and could care less about my presence. They too know when my kitchen door is open and will make a lot of noise if I wake up late and feed the dog later than normal.