Participant FAQ

We frequently receive inquiries about an increase or decline in bird populations. While it is impossible for us to know the cause of each specific increase and decline, there are several common causes for bird population fluctuations.

• Habitat changes frequently affect bird numbers. If there has been any change in your neighborhood–such as trees being cut down or new houses being built–that could be the reason you are seeing more or less birds.
• Natural food supplies–such as pine cones, berries, seeds, and insects–fluctuate from year to year, causing birds to shift ranges to take advantage of food surpluses or to compensate for food shortages.
• Weather fluctuations often cause birds to shift ranges, especially in winter.
• Has a predator moved into your neighborhood? A cat or bird-eating hawk may have scared your birds away. Once the predator moves on, your feeder birds will return.

Bird populations normally fluctuate from one season to the next and from one year to the next. Sometimes, however, there are significant, long-term changes in the numbers of particular birds in certain areas.

Project FeederWatch was established to monitor winter feeder-bird populations. The protocols were designed to most efficiently gather data about birds at feeders in winter. Expanding the project would require re-evaluating the protocol and perhaps introducing a different protocol for other seasons. It would also require adding new species to the regional species lists, reprogramming online data entry to lengthen the season, and adding staff to provide participant support for a longer period of time. The resources required would be significant. Participants get the most joy from reporting a wide variety of species, but the value of the project scientifically is actually with the mundane–monitoring the populations and distributions of regular winter feeder birds.

There have been several changes in the names of juncos and titmice over the years. Learn the latest names and how to report these birds to FeederWatch.

Participants often write in saying that they see another participant on the participant map near their house. They wonder if we can help them contact the nearby participant. FeederWatch staff are not able to give out contact information to protect the privacy of other participants. Additionally, the project’s limited resources prevent staff from tracking down these neighboring participants to gain permission for contact.

We hope to offer a forum for participants in the future, but currently there is no way for participants to commmunicate with other participants except by leaving comments in the Participants Photo section of our website, on our blog, or on our Facebook page.

Wind certainly does seem to affect the number of birds visiting feeders. When Project FeederWatch was first established, participants were asked to provide wind data. At that time many participants complained because it was too hard to determine wind speeds. Unfortunately, there are many problems with recording wind data.

• Winds are often quite variable over the two-day period. Should participants record maximum wind velocity? If so, does this really tell scientists anything if the winds quiet down and activity at the feeders returns to normal at some point during the count? In such a situation, maximum bird counts would be the same as if it had not been windy.
• Participants might have trouble assessing wind speeds in a consistent manner. If one participant uses a report in the newspaper while another uses a wind guage at home, the variation in methods makes comparisons difficult.
• To add wind data, we would have to add fields to the database and online data entry tables–an expensive proposition.

Without a method to accurately record meaningful wind data, we do not want to burden FeederWatchers with additional tasks.

All counts are valuable, even reports of no birds. The only way to accurately monitor bird populations is to hear from as many sites as possible about what birds are and are not there. Read about the regrets of researchers in Great Britain who neglected the opportunity to collect House Sparrow counts when the birds were extremely numerous.