Our Winter Bird Highlights, summarizing the results from the 2022-23 season, is now online.
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
Pam McGovern
Effingham, NH, United States
I noticed this male purple finch flying around rather aimlessly. On closer look, I noticed both eyes appeared to be closed. In this picture, only one eye is closed, but my husband and I were able to walk right up to him and even when we were talking, he didn’t seem to notice us. This is the first time I have seen eye disease in any of my birds.When I lived in southern NH it was very common in the house finches.
I have 5 pairs of purple finches and am watching them all closely for signs of spreading (I may have a female with it now, too). I have been monitoring this male and it appears that the partially open eye is now fully open, so hopefully he is recovering.
Eye problems
Carrot river_-grosbeakhad red eye. Woman shot 4 of them-said its just like wasting disease . Will the babies have that disease? ad
We have seen cases of eye disease in grosbeaks; however, it is NOT related to wasting disease. Eye disease is a bacterial infection similar to conjunctivitis. If a wildlife rehabilitator is willing to take in birds with eye disease, it can be easily treated and the birds can recover. Please tell this person, that killing songbirds is illegal. If you or your neighbors are feeding birds and notice eye disease, please take down your feeders and birdbaths, clean them with a diluted bleach solution, rake the ground under the feeders to get rid of droppings and discarded seeds, and leave your feeders down for a week. You can learn more about eye disease at: https://feederwatch.org/learn/house-finch-eye-disease/.
Yes, all birds except Rock Pigeons, House Sparrows, European Starlings, and Eurasian Collared-Doves are protected. Killing birds can result in 6 months in prison. It is a very serious crime to kill birds. Even sick birds.
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