Project FeederWatch - It's Bird Watching Time!

Welcome Back.  Here we are in November, actually almost half way through the month.  The garden is for the most part finished for the season, however, a few cold hardy vegetables remain.  I will post a few photos in my next post of those items and some fall gardening tips.

But for the immediate future, I am turning my attention to one of my favorite winter hobbies, bird watching. and of course, Project FeederWatch, which is a joint venture between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada.  This project starts this Saturday, November 12th.

Although I will focus mainly on Project FeederWatch in this post, another of my favorite birding projects is The Great Backyard Bird Count, which will take place February 17-20, 2017.  This project involves the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon, Bird Studies Canada, and eBird.

For those birders who want to submit bird counts any day of the year, there is eBird, which  is sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and The Audubon Society.

For information on this citizen science and how to get started, click here.

Some key information from the website is listed below:

Important Dates:

The 2016-2017 FeederWatch season runs from Saturday, November 12 to Friday, April 7. Online data entry will open for new participants on November 1. The last day to start a two-day count is Thursday, April 6.

The project always starts on the second Saturday of November and runs for 21 weeks.

Instruction Summary:

1. Sign up – If you have not yet signed up, join today! During the season, it takes a few weeks from when you sign up for your kit to arrive with your ID number and for your ID number to be activated in Your Data.
2. Select your count site – Choose a portion of your yard that is easy to monitor, typically an area with feeders that is visible from one vantage point.
3. Choose your count days – Select two consecutive days as often as once a week (less often is fine). Leave at least five days when you do not count between each of your two-day counts.
4. How to count – Watch your feeders as much or a little as you want over your selected count days. Record the maximum number of each species visible at any one time during your two-day count. Keep one tally across both days. Do not add your counts together!
5. What to count – Please count
   • all of the individuals of each species in view at any one time
   • birds attracted to food or water you provided
   • birds attracted to fruits or ornamental plantings
   • hawks and other predatory birds that are attracted by the birds at your feeders
   But do not count
   • birds that simply fly over the count site, such as Canada Geese or Sandhill Cranes.
   • birds seen on non-count days
6. Report your counts – Submit counts through the Your Data section of our website.

For further information, use the link above. If you need ideas regarding how to feed birds including the many different types of bird feeders, refer to my "Featured Post" above in the right hand margin of the blog.

I am excited to get started again this year.   Even though this may seem like a huge commitment since it runs for 21 weeks, it's fine if you don't or can't participate each and every week.   Any data you collect will be very useful for research.

Finally, as I have stated many times, bird watching is a great family activity.   It can be done both indoors and out, is not expensive, and can help pass the time during the long winter months.

So dust off the binoculars, sharpen your pencils, and sign up today for Project FeederWatch. 

In closing, another nice sunrise at my home taken in late October.

Thanks for visiting, until next time.