Data Entry Contest: What’s Your Favorite Bird to See?
For the tenth season in a row, Project FeederWatch and our sponsor Wild Birds Unlimited are rewarding registered FeederWatchers with the chance to win prizes. Celestron has joined the fun by offering one pair of binoculars to each data entry contest winner as well. After entering counts 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. We randomly select two winners per prompt. Our third Data Entry contest prompt of the 39th season was:
What’s your favorite bird to see during the FeederWatch season? Do you wait all season for a glimpse of it, or does this bird come every day? Share with us what makes this species or individual so special to see at your count site!
Congratulations to our winners, Kathleen Greene and Nancy Dollar!
Kathleen shared,
My favorite birds I look for every day are a male and a female cardinal. This is the first year I have had them as daily visitors! The male is young and his red coloring is very bright red-orange in color, and the female is a beautiful color as well, but she is hard to spot. The male comes every morning and afternoon, and we usually see the female very early in the morning and at dusk. We put out cracked corn and peanuts in addition to black oil sunflower seeds for them (which they scrap over with the Blue Jays, who try to eat them all). The cardinals were my father’s favorite birds—he was an avid birder who taught me the ropes. Every time I see the male cardinal, I think it’s Dad saying hello. 🙂
The Northern Cardinal was a top choice for many FeederWatchers! The bright red plumage of male cardinals is particularly eye-catching, and combined with their widespread distribution and abundance, have made cardinals a beloved bird for many people in Eastern North America. Their iconic status is reflected in their role as state bird for seven states as well as being the namesake for two professional sports teams. Cardinals stand out not only visually but also vocally. Both males and females sing during the breeding season, creating the well-recognized “what cheer, cheer, cheer” song. The understated plumage of female cardinals is often overlooked, and we love that Nancy called out the female’s beauty and noted that she is hard to see, which is a complement in itself. Since female cardinals do the vast majority of egg incubation, it’s critical for their survival that the female is hard to see! How wonderful it is that these beautiful birds connect you to your dad. Thank you for sharing your story, Kathleen!
Nancy shared,
My favorite bird is the occasional “what the heck is this” visitor. The bird that has you grab the binoculars to study their features. It’s like your own little backyard mystery to solve. My latest mystery bird had a woodpecker bill, was somewhat similar in size and appearance to a Hairy Woodpecker (but no red markings at all), a black crown, and black and tan feathers. It visited a few more times before the mystery was solved. It returned with a second bird that had never visited our feeders before—a female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. My mystery bird was apparently a juvenile, explaining the lack of red and other differences. Thank you young sapsucker for teaching me something new and brightening my day!
This is a great perspective to have when observing mystery visitors! We love that FeederWatch allows folks to put their observational skills to use and connect to birds in a fun way. Nancy describes using two of the best ways to identify a bird: noting characteristics like color and bill shape and noting birds the mystery bird is associating with. When you look at a bird, “translating” what you see into words can help you notice more features and remember the bird better when you consult a field guide. Noting birds that the mystery bird is associating with can provide valuable clues as well, both for comparison of features and behaviors and perhaps for identifying the species itself, as was the case for Nancy. This comparison is especially useful when observing a bird with unusual plumage. Comment below to tell us about a “what the heck is this” visitor you have observed and how you identified it. Thank you for sharing your story, Nancy!
Thanks to everyone who participated and shared their stories for this prompt—we love reading your submissions! Read the stories from past winners on our blog. Email feederwatch@cornell.edu with questions.
Interested in becoming a FeederWatcher? Join the fun now!
5 comments on “Data Entry Contest: What’s Your Favorite Bird to See?”
How do I enter the contest for things done at my site?
Hi Diana, each time you submit a count, you’ll be brought to a page that has a link to the Data Entry Contest page. If you click “Enter to Win!” it will open the page in your browser. You should see the prompt and form to share your story.
I enjoyed both of these stories. I also think of friends or relatives who have passed on when a Cardinal visits.
It is so neat that the “mystery visitor” was identified. I, too, try to pick up features of the bird that I’m not sure of.
Sometimes, they are too quick, and I only get a glance. Then, I hope the bird returns so I’ll get a better view.
Thanks for sharing!
I like the white breasted nuthatches that come to my feeders. The nuthatch likes my black oil sunflower seeds, will throw out the bad ones, my raw peanuts are another favorite and the nuthatch like my bark butter I make. The nuthatch makes quick trips to the feeders and is a dominant feeder. the nuthatch. I love the way the nuthatches hop down the tree. They always take a sunflower or raw peanut to a tree and hold the feed between their feet and peck out good part of the sunflower or how they eat a peanut. Then when finished they are back to the feeders.
My “what the heck is this bird” was clinging to the side of a large pine near our feeders. It was smaller than most of our other birds, and a true brown color, not grayish brown or light brown, with many brown spots on its’ whitish belly. It had a longer, thinner and more curved beak than our other small birds. It was skittering up and down the tree, but mostly upright unlike our many red breasted nuthatches. I looked it up and identified this tiny visitor as a brown creeper!