Project FeederWatch is a citizen science project managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The Cornell Lab also does eBird. I’ve been participating in Project FeederWatch for about four years now. This watch season started November 10th and runs through April. It’s not too late to signup!
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
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So what is Project FeederWatch?
Project FeederWatch turns your love of feeding birds into scientific discoveries. FeederWatch is a winter-long (November-April) survey of birds that visit feeders at backyards, nature centers, community areas, and other locales in North America. Participants periodically count the birds they see at their feeders and send their counts to Project FeederWatch. Your bird counts help you keep track of what is happening in your own backyard and help scientists track long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance. With FeederWatch, your observations become part of something bigger.
I’m curious how you all feed wild birds. Here’s an overview of my habitat and of my simple feeding station.
We’re at the border of a county park that is 120 acres of woodland with western red-cedar, Douglas fir, western hemlock, big leaf maple, and red alder. The oldest trees I’m estimating are aged around 100 years. Our habitat is sort of an “edge” with Pacific temperate forest on one side and suburban landscape on the other. Our bird visitors reflect both habitats and also those that like the edges.
Here’s a closer inspection of my feeding apparatus.
On the left is a peanut feeder that has no peanuts because the Steller’s jays have taken them already. The jays magically disappear in the spring and summer when they nest but in winter they come around and happily gulp two or three peanuts at a time and then dash off to hide them. Crows also show up in raucous murders to take the peanuts.
Next over right is the hummingbird feeder. We have Anna’s all year. Rufous hummingbirds arrive in the spring and are gone by summer’s end.
The next feeder over to the right is a solid little feeder we bought at an art show over 20 years ago. It has a genuine copper sheet roof. I put black oil sunflower seed in it. Mainly chickadees, both black-capped and chestnut-backed, and red-breasted nuthatches take the sunflower seed. Finches, house and purple, show up occasionally.
On the far right is a suet feeder for woodpeckers, though other birds sample there as well. We have mostly northern flickers, but hairy, downy, and even pileated woodpeckers visit. I installed 1/4” hardware cloth in the suet feeder to discourage crows and to make it more challenging for the woodpeckers. Actually, it helps the suet last longer so I don’t have to buy it as often.
Note that the post is coated with Vaseline to keep the squirrels off. It works very well. I’ve heard WD40 works pretty well, too.
On the ground is a sort of platform feeder that looks like this close up:
It’s a steel cover to an underground storage tank fill port that I salvaged from a work project. It cleans easily by sweeping or rinsing with a watering can. I place white millet on it for the ground feeders like song sparrows, spotted towhees, and juncos. In the winter, varied thrushes show up, but they haven’t shown up here yet.
This is where I store the bird seed, in a critter-proof classic galvanized trash can. Out of frustration, the squirrels urinate on top of the can.
These are the containers that are stored inside the can with individual seed assortments and dispensing accessories. My rule is to place only enough bird seed out in the morning that can be consumed in a day. Otherwise, you may encourage rats.
I record my project FeederWatch observations in this steno pad. I’m sure I’ll compile it all in a spreadsheet someday like maybe never. I add weather observations because I now have a fancy roof-mounted weather station that my wife gave me for Christmas.
What kind of bird feeding set up do you have? What birds visit your feeder or what birds do you commonly see around your place? What type of bird seed or food do you put out? What the heck other things are going on in your habitat?
Here in western Washington, it’s been uncharacteristically warm and dry, only 0.85” of rain so far this November. November is usually the wettest month punctuated by wind storms. It doesn’t bode well for ski season.
What’s up in nature in your area today?
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