I have finally found the perfect wildlife conservation project—and all I have to do is sit in my favorite chaise and count birds.
It’s for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Project FeederWatch.
Okay, I also have to enter some data into the Project FeederWatch database, but that’s a cinch. Oh. And I have to be able to identify the birds that visit the back yard. Sometimes easy. Sometimes difficult.
Downy woodpecker
Still, it’s the perfect activity for my new slow and simple lifestyle.
If you’re interested, it’s really quite, uh, simple.
First, you choose where you’re going to count your birds. I have big picture windows that are pretty much the wall of the back of my house, so I just sit in my favorite chair. You also need to have bird feeders (hence the name FeederWatch), but you need to outline an area around the feeders that will be a part of your count territory.
Second, you choose your count days. Select two consecutive days to count for at least some portion of the day. I count for about an hour and a half at a time. After that the dogs have to go outside potty or I need a glass of tea or something (like I need to go potty because of all the tea I drank).
Bluejay – The contraption behind him is my new birdcam. Stay tuned to see if I get it working.
Record the maximum number of birds of each species that you see at ONE TIME. You don’t have to keep track of who is coming and going. You just give maximum numbers for who’s there at one time. For example, my species maximum for this morning’s 1.5 hour count was:
American tree sparrow – 2
Brown-headed cowbirds – 8
Cardinals – 2
Chickadee – 1
Dark-eyed juncos – 9
Downy woodpeckers – 1
Goldfinches – 3
Mourning doves – 15
Purple finches – 10
Red-bellied woodpeckers – 1
Red-breasted nuthatches – 3
Red-winged blackbird – 1
Tufted titmouse – 1
White-breasted nuthatch – 1
Then, you report your counts. You can do that online or by sending in paper reports.
My birdwatching station
Aside from the slow and simple nature of the activity, I have found that participating in Project FeederWatch means that I pay even more attention to my backyard visitors. For example, I noticed that not all the nuthatches that visit are red-breasted nuthatches. I discovered that some are white-breasted nuthatches. And because I was watching closely I noticed the return of the brown-headed cowbirds this morning.
I also noticed that those deer are nibbling away at the new pussywillow that I planted last spring. Stoopid deer. At least I have the deer killer.
I find counting birds for Project FeederWatch quite a fine way to spend part of a morning. I’m helping the birds. I’m learning to observe nature and identify birds. I get to swear my pajamas and drink coffee or tea while I’m doing it. And I don’t even have to work up a sweat. (That comes later—at the gym. Can’t get out of that.)
By the way, here’s my birdwatching station for Project FeederWatch.
Sweet!
January 21st, 2008 at 11:48 am
Hail to thee, Citizen Scientist!
You’ve got a good variety of birds coming to your feeders and I’m glad you’re enjoying it, plus learning to ID new visitors.
This is my second year of Project Feederwatch (I really like the fact that you can do all your reporting on-line!)
January 21st, 2008 at 12:39 pm
We are doing the Indiana Audubon Feeder Watch. We have done this for years. You have the same birds that we have coming in. We don’t get purple finches here. They are very rare here. We have the typical House Finches. We haven’t seen the Brown-headed Cowbirds yet. It won’t be long before they appear.
January 21st, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Cool idea. I don’t have a simple lifestyle with three kids who need lots of transport, but when I do . . . . Hey, can I borrow the deer killer for fruit tree season? Blessings, Dee
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:44 pm
I love your bird-watching area! I have a set of sliding glass doors that overlook my cottage flower garden, but I don’t have the comfey chair you do.
January 22nd, 2008 at 9:35 pm
This is such a fun-sounding project! Good for you for doing this because I heard on the news that the number of North American birds are decreasing sharply. Scary, eh? Maybe if we are made conscious of what’s happening we’ll do something to make it right.