It's Time For Project FeederWatch

Welcome back.

Believe it or not November is here, and that's good news for bird watchers!  This week we are seeing above normal temperatures and sunny skies.  It doesn't seem like the typical November bird watching weather for central New York State.

Project FeederWatch officially begins on November 14th, and runs through April 8th of 2016.  This is the 29th season for this citizen science project which is a joint venture of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada.  However, if you want to participate this year, I would encourage you to sign up soon as it takes a few weeks for you to receive your research kit.  Your starter kit also includes your membership number, which is needed to enter data online.  It only costs $18 for the season.  But not to worry,  You don't have to participate every single week during the project.

For more information and to sign up, visit http://feederwatch.org/.

I have also provided an instructional video, which has good information regarding how to set up a bird watching area and much more:

What does all this data tell us?

(From thee FeederWatch website):

When thousands of FeederWatchers in communities across North America count birds and send their tallies to the FeederWatch database, the result is a treasure trove of numbers, which FeederWatch scientists analyze to draw a picture of winter bird abundance and distribution.

FeederWatch data show which bird species visit feeders at thousands of locations across the continent every winter. The data also indicate how many individuals of each species are seen. This information can be used to measure changes in the winter ranges and abundances of bird species over time.

Why is this data important:

(From thee FeederWatch website):

With each season, FeederWatch increases in importance as a unique monitoring tool for more than 100 bird species that winter in North America.

What sets FeederWatch apart from other monitoring programs is the detailed picture that FeederWatch data provide about weekly changes in bird distribution and abundance across the United States and Canada. Importantly, FeederWatch data tell us where birds are as well as where they are not. This crucial information enables scientists to piece together the most accurate population maps.

Because FeederWatchers count the number of individuals of each species they see several times throughout the winter, FeederWatch data are extremely powerful for detecting and explaining gradual changes in the wintering ranges of many species. In short, FeederWatch data are important because they provide information about bird population biology that cannot be detected by any other available method.

So sharpen your pencils and dust off the binoculars.  It's time to count birds.

When you sign up, you will receive the following benefits from your membership:

• Full access to the website and data entry.
• Winter Birds Highlights, a summary of the previous counting season.
• The Cornell's Lab newsletter, a publication about backyard birds.

New participants will receive:

• Common Feeder Birds poster.
• FeederWatch handbook and instructions booklet.
• Bird-Watching Days calendar.
• Tally sheet.

As an added bonus, participants can submit their photos to share on the website.

So join today in order to get your research kit in a few weeks.   As I mentioned many times before, bird watching is a very relaxing activity and a great way to spend quality family time together.

As always, thanks for readng.