The prime directive for Project FeederWatch has been and continues to be gathering data about how bird populations and distributions are changing across the United States and Canada-vital information for conservation. For the 37th season of this project, participants can enter some brand-new kinds of data-and finally get a chance to tell tales about squirrels, deer, raccoons, bears, or other mammals they see at their count sites in winter-in addition to the birds.
The FeederWatch season takes place November 1, 2023, through April 30, 2024.
In addition to the mammal sightings, FeederWatch is also asking for reports of sick birds and for information about how watching birds impacts people's sense of well-being.
"We are trying to accomplish several things with these new data," said the Cornell Lab's project leader Emma Greig. "How do feeder cleaning methods impact the number of sick birds at people's feeders? If participants see sick birds, how does that change what people do next? We are also trying to understand if seeing squirrels, deer, or other mammals affects human behavior or changes the way people feel about offering supplementary food to birds."
Learn more and sign up or renew with Project FeederWatch.
FeederWatchers can report sightings of mammals for the first time--in addition to birds.
