Another Project Feederwatch season begins this Saturday, November 12th. For $15 you can help the Cornell Lab of Ornithology track North American bird species and their distribution by counting the birds that visit your backyard feeders between mid-November and early April.
This citizen science program was started in 1987, and the data they’ve collected now spans 25 generations of birds. I just looked up my data online and was surprised to learn that I’ve been participating for 17 years!
Counting birds is fun, and you can decide how much or how little time you are able to spare. It’s exciting when you spot a new or unusual bird species in your yard during a counting period. I’ve had more than one bird surprise over the years that I probably wouldn’t have noticed had I not been actively counting birds.
Project Feederwatch recently issued a press release asking for more participants. See their website for more details about the project and how you can help.