Give the Gift of FeederWatch.. Purchase a gift certificate for your recipient in the U.S. or a Birds Canada membership in Canada.
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
Darlene Page
Cincinnati, OH, USA
My first siting of House finch with eye problem (Mar 31). There are dozens of house finches and goldfinches that visit my feeders daily and this is the only one I have seen with this problem. It is only affecting the right eye and the bird appears to have little problem eating or flying. This is my first year of birdwatching and I’m assuming it’s the eye disease I have read about. But could it be something else?
Eye problems
Hi Darlene, This is likely eye disease. The best thing to do when you see a sick bird at your feeders is to clean them. We have instructions on how best to do this on our Sick Birds webpage, but basically, scrub all debris off with hot, soapy water, rinse, and then soak in a weak bleach solution.
We have a male house finch with conjunctivitis hanging around our feeder. At first we didn’t realize he was infected, but once we did we pulled the feeder. He’s still hanging around and getting worse. It’s been about a week since the feeder has been gone. We’re thinking of catching him and bringing him to our local wildlife rescue. Is there any hope with a treatment for this little guy?
Hi Anne, Please call a wildlife rehabilitator first before taking any action. That being said, they may suggest that it’s not worth bringing the bird in – many finches get Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis and there are reports of some that recover on their own – and so then can pass those strong genes onto their offspring. Whenever you see a sick bird, the best thing to do is to take down your feeders and clean them. You can learn more about how best to clean feeders here, according to the latest research. Regularly clean your feeders (every 1-2 weeks) even if you see no signs of disease – this is a great way to help prevent the spread of disease.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Comment *
Name *
Email *
Website
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.