Project FeederWatch for Beginners

Mark Wehmhoefer. All Rights Reserved.

Project FeederWatch is a winter-long survey of birds that visit feeders at backyards, nature centers, community areas, and other locales in North America. Project FeederWatch watchers periodically count the highest numbers of each species they see at their feeders from November through early April. Project FeederWatch helps scientists track broad scale movements of winter bird populations and long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance.

Project FeederWatch is operated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in partnership with the National Audubon Society, Bird Studies Canada, and Canadian Nature Federation.

Signup and Get Information
First you must sign up and pay a $15 or more donation to receive your information packet and Project FeederWatch ID number. This may take about 2 weeks. You can do this at the Project FeederWatch website.

While waiting for the information to arrive, review the Project FeederWatch website for the entire counting and recording process.

Start Counting
Basically, you must count the maximum number of birds of each species seen at the bird feeders in your backyard or the location where you placed the bird feeders. Do this for 2 consecutive days and report the results. Do not write the accumalated number of birds for 2 days, jys the maximum of each bird species.

But you also need to make note of the following information that is needed when entering data for Project FeederWatch.

Periods when feeders watched: Day 1 & 2, morning and/or afternoon
Estimated cumulative time you watched your feeders: 
Daylight temperature: Select the extremes during the two-day count.
Daylight precipitation:  Type: None, Rain, Rain/Snow, Snow
Duration (if applicable): Under 1 hour, 1 to 3 hours, 3 to 6 hours, Over 6 hours
Total depth of snow cover: None, under 2", 2" to 6", over 6"
Check if hard crust or ice covers snow.
Check if snow cover is patchy (less than 50% cover).

No reason you can't start counting before the Project FeederWatch packet of information arrives.

Make sure when you count, to leave 5 days between counts  so every Saturday and Sunday for example.

Create your online profile
After the Project FeederWatch packet arrives you will be assigned a Project FeederWatch ID number. Go to the Project FeederWatch website and make sure you enter your online profile to become registered.

It should take 5 to 10 minutes for a slow typist to enter all the information. This information is needed only the first time you use the Project FeederWatch website.

Describe count site
Before entering any data, you must describe your Project FeederWatch count site by narrowing your bird feeder location to a specific latitude and longitude.  All you have to do is click on the maps displayed or if you know the exact numbers those can be entered. You can have multiple bird feeder locations.

It should take 5 to 10 minutes for a slow typist to enter all the information. You are usually prompted for a major mistake and can correct it quickly.  Its easy to skip a question, but also easy to reenter any missed questions by clicking on the "Describe Count Site tab". You will see "Complete  Thank You" on the summary tab when everything is entered correctly.

This information is needed only the first time you use the Project FeederWatch website.

Start Recording Data
Its easy to skip a question, but also easy to reenter any missed questions. You are usually prompted for a major mistake and can correct it quickly.

Just pick the first day of your 2 consecutive Project FeederWatch days that you observed.

Next answer the weather condition questions by clicking the given options.

Then enter the maximum number of each bird species seen on the 2 days you observed.

That's about it!

It should take 5 to 10 minutes for a slow typist to enter all the information every week. You can always edit the data  from the "Enter Bird Counts" tab at the summary page.  If the data was entered correctly, you will see the date listed on the summary tab.

Congrats!
All you need to do is watch the birds at the bird feeders, write down the maximum bird species and enter the Project FeederWatch data every week!

Reminders
You may need to click 'Refresh' on your browser to see the latest Project FeederWatch  information listed.

Make sure when you count, to leave 5 days between counts so every Saturday and Sunday for example would be the days you observe the birds.

More Project FeederWatch  information can be found at: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/InstruxandUpdates/BeginDataEntry.htm

About the author: Mark Wehmhoefer is the webmaster of Wild Birding - http://www.wildbrding.com, a birding web site with Beginner articles, information and extensive web links for backyard wild birding and wild birding in nature. 

This article can be reprinted as long as you leave the About the author information.