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BlogLet’s Talk Emotions!Project FeederWatch adds the option to submit data on your emotions to study human-bird relationships. By Christy Pototsky, Virginia Tech This season 80% of Project FeederWatch participants are participating in new optional aspects of Project FeederWatch data collection. Along with…
BlogLowest Bird Abundance at FeederWatch Sites in Ten YearsWe often receive inquiries from participants asking, “where have all the birds gone?” and telling us that bird counts seem lower than in the past. Typically, these observations are localized and don’t reflect a wider trend, but in the 2023-24…
BlogMethods Behind the Madness: Why Only Count the Most Birds Seen at Once?You’ve just sat down in your living room under a cozy blanket with a steaming mug of fresh coffee to begin your FeederWatch count. You watch for an hour as chickadees race back and forth to your feeder from deep…
BlogMethods Behind the Madness: Why shouldn’t I start a count when I see an exciting species?Why shouldn’t I start a count when I see an exciting species? If you see a new or uncommon bird species, it’s completely understandable to want to report it on a FeederWatch count. It’s great to notice rare birds, but reporting counts only when you see exciting species misrepresents the birds at your feeders and makes it seem as if rare species are more common than they really are.
BlogMillions of FeederWatch observations now at your fingertips!Where do all the cardinals live? Are Anna’s Hummingbirds expanding their winter range? What years have nuthatch irruptions? The new FeederWatch trend graphs are here to provide the answers in a colorful and fun way! Animated maps show changing “bubbles”…
BlogNew Data Entry Options: Record Mammals, Management Activities, and MoreProject FeederWatch is delighted to announce that, thanks to grant funding, participants are now able to record several types of additional information with their regular bird counts. Along with different bird species you see and their behavioral interactions, you may…
BlogNew research links House Finch behavior at feeders to the acquisition and spread of eye diseaseWhat is the story? New research about feeder birds and House Finch eye disease (mycoplasmal conjunctivitis) reveals an interesting link between behavior and disease transmission. Previous evidence suggested that the bacterium was spread by birds that had the most social…
BlogNew Site List FeatureProject FeederWatch is delighted to announce the release of a new Site List feature. For each site, you can see which birds species you have reported, the percentage of your counts for that site that included each species, the percentage…
BlogPreventing Bird-Glass Collisions: One Staff Member’s Creative ApproachIt is estimated that over 1 billion birds are killed each year due to window collisions. This devastating fact moved Dr. Mhairi McFarlane, Habitat Stewardship Manager at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, to take matters into her own hands to…