Select your count site Your FeederWatch count site should be an area that is convenient to observe, such as a backyard outside a kitchen or dining room window. Select an area as large as you can consistently observe from week to week. Your count site should include feeders, a water feature, and/or plantings that you maintain for birds. We prefer that you select a count site that you can observe from one vantage point, but multiple vantage points are acceptable so long as you never add counts together (if you see a male cardinal out your front window and a female cardinal out your back window, you should only report one cardinal because that’s the most you saw from one vantage point at one time). Choose obvious boundaries, such as the border of your yard or an area within a courtyard. Most count sites are roughly the size of two tennis courts, but can be as small as a single feeder. Once you have chosen your site, count birds at this same site all season. Visit the Feeding Birds section for more information about how to create a count site that will be attractive to birds. back to top

Choose count days The count season The FeederWatch season always begins the second Saturday in November and runs for 21 weeks, ending on a Friday. The 2020–21 FeederWatch season begins on November 14 and ends on April 9. The last day to start a two-day count is April 8. Two consecutive days FeederWatch count days are two consecutive days when you count the birds at your feeders. Count days always come in pairs. Pick days that will maximize the time you have to count birds. Schedule your count days in advance, if possible. Do not change your count days just because you see remarkable numbers or kinds of birds. Doing so would bias your data. If you are unable to count during a particular week or count period, that’s okay. Your data are valuable even if you were only able to count on a few occasions. No more than once a week Schedule each pair of count days at least 5 days apart (leave five days when you don’t count birds between each count). You may decide to count every Tuesday and Wednesday, for example. Counting once a week means that you can submit up to 21 bird counts–the number of weeks in the FeederWatch season. But it is fine to miss weeks. The more often you count, the more valuable your data becomes, but there is no minimum required number of counts. back to top

How much to watch? Watch your feeders for as long as you can during your count days. However, you don’t need to get up early or watch continuously. Some people can only watch before and/or after work, for example. If you cannot count during both of your count days, try to count as long as possible on your one available day. Be sure to keep track of how much time you spend observing your count site. For example, if you are in the kitchen working for an hour, and you can see the feeders out your kitchen window, you would only record the portion of that hour when you were actually looking at the feeders. back to top

Use the FeederWatch app or a Tally Sheet During each two-day count, you should keep a tally of the birds that visit your site. You can keep track using the FeederWatch mobile app or a Tally Sheet. To keep track of your counts on paper, use the links below to download one of our Tally Sheets. You can open the plain text version in a word processing document and type in the species that usually visit your yard before printing. Or you can print a PDF version and write in your most common species before photocopying it. Plain Text Tally Sheet Download PDF Tally Sheet Download back to top

Identify your birds Correctly identifying the birds at your feeder is critical to the quality of the data you submit and to the success of Project FeederWatch. Since relatively few species of birds visit most feeders, these species can become very familiar to you with a little practice and careful observation. We encourage you to acquaint yourself with the birds in your area by studying the Common Feeder Birds Poster included in your first research kit. You can download a mini version of the poster for free. If you cannot identify a bird, sketch or photograph the mystery bird and pay attention to its field marks before consulting a field guide. If you see the bird during a FeederWatch count, include notes about when you saw the bird and how many you saw so that you can add the observation to your count if you are able to identify the species later. To identify a mystery bird, consult a current field guide, such as the Cornell Lab’s All About Birds online guide. For more information about identifying birds, visit Identifying Birds in the Learn section of this web site. For help with similar looking birds, such as finches, woodpeckers or accipiters, visit the Tricky Bird ID page. You can also use the Cornell Lab’s Merlin app for help identifying birds. back to top

Count your birds How to count your birds To ensure that FeederWatch data can be used for scientific research, every FeederWatcher must count birds in the exact same way. Here’s how to conduct your two-day count: Keep a tally sheet and field guide handy.

Each time you see a species within your count site during your count days, count the number of individuals in view simultaneously and record that number on your tally sheet. (For example, if the first time you look at your feeder you see one Northern Cardinal and two Blue Jays, record these numbers next to their names.)

and record that number on your tally sheet. (For example, if the first time you look at your feeder you see one Northern Cardinal and two Blue Jays, record these numbers next to their names.) If later during your two-day count you see more individuals of a species in view simultaneously, revise your tally sheet to reflect the larger number. (For example, if later on you see two Northern Cardinals and three Blue Jays, change the number of Northern Cardinals on your tally sheet from one to two, and the number of Blue Jays from two to three.) Do not add your counts together ; record only the largest number of individuals of each species in view simultaneously over the two-day count. By following this method you will never report an individual bird more than once.

; record only the largest number of individuals of each species in view simultaneously over the two-day count. By following this method you will never report an individual bird more than once. At the end of your two-day count, the largest number of individuals that you saw simultaneously becomes your final tally and the number for each species that you will report to FeederWatch. You will make one report for each two-day count.

and the number for each species that you will report to FeederWatch. You will make one report for each two-day count. Record the date and how much time you spent observing birds on your count days.

Watch for eye disease in House Finches, Purple Finches, Evening Grosbeaks, and goldfinches, and keep track of how many of each species you see with eye disease at one time during each count. Please count… all of the individuals that are in view simultaneously. For example, if two House Sparrows are on your feeder and six more are waiting their turn in a nearby bush, count all eight.

birds that are attracted to your count site because of something you provided or the activity around your feeders even if they do not eat food or take a bath. For example, count birds like Brown Creepers and warblers that forage with feeder birds but don’t necessarily come to your feeders themselves.

birds that are attracted to fruits or plantings that you maintain in your count site. Examples include Cedar Waxwings and American Robins.

hawks, owls, and other predatory birds, such as roadrunners and shrikes, that are attracted by birds at your feeders, even if the predators are not successful in catching a meal. But don’t count… birds that simply fly over your count site, such as Canada Geese or Sandhill Cranes.

birds that you observe outside of your chosen count days. If you see a bird on a non-count day that you wish to tell us about, you may report the sighting in the comment space where you report your counts or on the Comment Form linked from the right side of the Data Entry home page. All Counts Are Important FeederWatch participants often stop counting their birds because they believe that their counts are not important. Typically they are seeing the same birds every week, or they are seeing very few or no birds. While we are all thrilled by unusual sightings and high counts, it’s the everyday observations of common birds that are so important for monitoring bird populations. The only way scientists know when birds are missing is if the people seeing no or very few birds tell us. Learn more about why every count matters. Remember if no birds visit your feeders, this information is important. If you see no birds, please select “I watched my feeders, but no birds were present” at the top of your count list when you submit your count. For further information and tips on count procedures, please review Tricky Counts and Special Cases. back to top

Record snow cover We are able to access extensive weather information from continental datasets and match it to your counts, so you don’t have to record weather information such as temperature, rainfall or wind. But snow depth is highly variable from one site to the next and can be important for interpreting patterns of feeder use. Please record the average depth of snow at your count site over the two-day count. If your count site contained snow drifts of various depths, or if you had snow on one of your count days but not the other, average the depth of snow cover over the two-day count. back to top

Record behavior interactions FeederWatch participants are invited to report two types of interactive behaviors they might observe between birds at their feeders: displacement and predation (defined below). If you observe either of the behaviors, note on your tally sheet the species of the bird attempting to displace or depredate another bird and the species of the bird that was targeted. They could be the same species or different species. Also record whether or not the behavior was successful (e.g. did the Blue Jay successfully cause the chickadee to leave? Did the Cooper’s Hawk fail to catch the Mourning Dove?). Displacement Displacement is when one bird (the “source”) tries to take over a resource (usually food, but sometimes a perch) occupied by another bird (the “target”). A displacement event is successful if the source bird dislodges the target bird from a perch or feeder. The source bird needs to be purposefully attempting to take the perch of the target bird, rather than landing on a spot as the target bird was about to leave on its own accord. Displacement behavior does not include when a bird flies away to escape a predator or when a group of birds mobs another bird. Sometimes large birds, such as Blue Jays or Red-bellied Woodpeckers, can arrive suddenly at a feeder and cause other birds to scatter. Or sometimes a flock of birds, such as Bushtits, can arrive and cause other birds to leave. Such instances are difficult to interpret so we ask that you only report clear examples of one individual attempting to displace another individual. Predation Predation events are when one bird (the “source”) attempts to capture or kill another bird (the “target”). Predation events often happen quickly and can be difficult to see. If you are confident that the source species killed the target species, then report the predation event as successful (it is successful from the predator’s perspective). When an event is unsuccessful, such as when a Cooper’s Hawk flies at a bird feeder and comes up empty, it may not be possible to identify the target species. Only record observations where you are certain about the identity of both species. A note about terms: the verb predate means to come before. Therefore, we use the verb depredate to describe the behavior seen in a predation event. back to top

Tricky counts and special cases Too many birds to count It can be very difficult to count large or even small flocks of birds, especially when they keep moving around. To estimate the number of birds in a flock, use the “blocking” method. First count the birds in an imaginary block of typical density. Keep the block small, to include only 10 to 25 birds. Then visually superimpose the block onto the entire flock and estimate how many times it fits. Finally, multiply this number by the number of birds in the original block. To get the best estimate, repeat this procedure at various times throughout the day and average your results. Mixed-species flocks When large, mixed-species flocks appear in your yard, keeping track of the kinds and numbers of birds can be difficult. First, estimate the total flock size using the method above. For example, estimate a flock at 80 birds. Now, take several “samples” of those 80 birds, such as small groups that are easily visible under the feeder, and estimate the proportion of each species in each group. For example, a group of 10 birds might include 5 Dark-eyed Juncos, 4 American Tree Sparrows, and 1 White-throated Sparrow. If that group seems representative of the entire flock, apply your calculated proportion to the total of 80 birds, and estimate the total flock at 40 juncos (50% of flock), 32 Tree Sparrows (40% of flock), and 8 White-throated Sparrows (10% of flock). Males and females observed at separate times Some species are “sexually dimorphic,” that is, the male and female look different. An example is the Northern Cardinal. Some days, the male and female both may visit your feeder, but never appear at the same time. Obviously you have two different cardinals in your yard. Still, you should only count them as two individuals if you see them together at the same time. Why? Because for us to be able to compare population trends for all the species that visit your yard, we must count all those species in the same way. Even if some species have males and females that look different, and some have males and females that look similar, we should count them using the same method. For example, we wouldn’t want it to seem like there were twice as many cardinals as chickadees just because we can tell male and female cardinals apart. For FeederWatch data to be scientifically valid, participants must follow the exact same counting procedure for all species. Black-capped and Carolina chickadees These species are difficult to tell apart. Even knowing their songs and calls won’t help every time because they can learn each other’s vocalizations. If you live near the area where the ranges of these species overlap (see map at right) and are uncertain which species is at your feeders, please record your chickadees as “Black-capped Chickadee/Carolina Chickadee.” Tag-along birds When a mixed-species flock in your count site is joined by a species that is not typically seen at feeders, you may count the “tag-along bird” even if it doesn’t actually visit your feeder. (The bird was indirectly attracted to your feeder site.) back to top

Submit your counts To help us learn more about feeder birds, we need your data–even if you made just one count! If you signed up for Project FeederWatch through our online store, or if you signed up by mail or phone and received your instructional kit in the mail with your ID number, you are ready to plot your count site on our map and start entering counts! Go to the Your Data section of our website and follow the onscreen instructions. If you have not yet signed up, join now. back to top