Project Feederwatch Results
Project FeederWatch is a citizen science program sponsored by Cornell University's Ornithology Lab. You can participate even if you don't yet know how to identify birds. I didn't when I first started! If you're starting from scratch, initial registration and the first few weeks identifying birds may take a little extra effort. After that, though, it becomes much easier - especially with online data entry. (People who don't have internet access can participate by snail mail or have someone enter data for them.) It's been very interesting and rewarding!
The watch weeks are from the second Saturday in November until the end of March. For example - depending on which two days you observe each week - Week 1 is around Nov 13, Week 6 is around Dec 21; Week 12 is around the beginning of February, Week 18 is around the middle of March.
The important rule is that you count only the maximum number of birds of a given species that you see at any one time. Thus the results guarantee that each figure represents at least as many birds as actually visited your yard. This rule is necessary, but most frustrating when you see a female cardinal and later see a male cardinal. Even though you know two birds visited your yard, you can only record "1" since you didn't see them both at the same time. This rule is understandable when you realize allowing people to record "2" in this circumstance would over-represent species where gender is obvious relative to species such as chickadees where gender is not.
Also, the results reflect my observations only during the 2-day count period each week. Depending on my schedule (I can't always sit and watch birds!), some weeks this represented enough time to accurately reflect the number of birds coming to my yard, but sometimes it reflects whatever time I could peek out into the yard.
Below are my results for the 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, and the 2003-04 seasons respectively (i.e. the first, second, third, and fourth numbers in the column). For example, "1-2-1" would indicate 1 bird of that species was seen in the '00 - '01 season, 2 birds in the '01-'02 season, and 1 bird in the '02-'03 season, and so on. A "-" indicates no birds were seen any of those seasons, and a "x" indicates I wasn't able to count that day. (Why include species that never have been counted? Because this is my master list of birds I have seen at some point during the year - even though I may not have seen them during the PFW count days.) As the years go by, it should be interesting to compare the results.
Project Feederwatch starts in mid-November, so Weeks 1-3 roughly correspond to November, Weeks 4-7 correspond to December, Weeks 8-12 correspond to January, Weeks 13-16 correspond to February, Weeks 17-20 correspond to March-early April, the end of the FeederWatcher season.
NOTE: The first number in the following refers to my observations for the '00-'01 season; the second is the '01-'02 season, the third is the '02-'03 season, and the fourth is the '03-'04 season, and so on.
Weeks 1-4 (roughly mid-November through early December).
An 'x' means I was not able to participate during that count period.
| Week 1 2000-2006 |
Week 2 2000-2006 |
Week 3 2000-2006 |
Week 4 2000-2006 |
|
| # of Species | 5-6-4-7-11-6-11 | 3-4-7-6-12-5-15 | 3-6-4-6-10-5-12 | 2-6-3-6-14-11-14 |
| Shrp-shn'd Hawk | 0-0-0-1-1-0-0 | 0-0-1-1-0-0-0 | - | 0-0-0-0-0-1-0 |
| Rock Dove | - | - | - | - |
| Mourning Dove | 0-0-1-3-5-1-2-2 | 0-0-1-1-2-1-7 | 1-1-2-2-3-2-2 | 0-0-2-1-7-2-6 |
| Rd-blld Wdpckr | - | 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 | - | 0-0-0-0-1-0-0 |
| Downy Wdpckr | 1-1-0-0-1-0-2 | 0-1-1-0-1-0-2 | 0-1-0-0-1-1-2 | 0-1-0-1-1-1-1 |
| Hairy Wdpckr | - | 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 | - | 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 |
| Northern Flicker | - | - | - | 0-0-0-1-0-0-0 |
| Eastern Phoebe | - | - | - | - |
| Blue Jay | 4-3-3-3-3-2-3 | 2-3-2-1-3-2-2 | 0-3-0-2-3-0-1 | 0-3-2-0-2-3-1 |
| American Crow | 0-1-0-0-0-0-0 | - | 0-0-0-1-0-0-0 | 2-0-0-0-0-0-0 |
| Blk-capChickadee | 3-3-0-1-3-4-3 | 3-2-3-4-5-1-5 | 0-2-2-0-2-5-3 | 0-2-0-0-4-5-4 |
| Tufted Titmouse | - | 0-0-0-0-2-0-0 | 0-0-0-0-1-0-2 | 0-0-0-0-1-0-1 |
| Red-br Nuthatch | - | 0-0-0-0-1-0-1 | - | 0-1-0-0-0-2-0 |
| Whte-br Nuthtch | - | 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 | 0-0-0-0-0-1-0 | 0-0-0-0-1-1-2 |
| American Robin | 0-0-0-0-2-0-2 | 0-0-0-0-1-0-3 | 0-0-0-0-0-0-2 | 0-0-0-0-1-0-1 |
| No Mockingbird | - | - | - | 0-0-0-1-0-1-0 |
| Euro Starling | - | - | 200*-0-0-0-0-0-0 | 0-0-0-0-30-0-0 |
| Am Tree Sparrow | - | - | - | - |
| Chippng Sprrw | - | - | - | - |
| Fox Sparrow | - | - | - | - |
| Song Sprrow | - | - | - | - |
| WhThr Sparrow | 0-0-0-0-0-0-3 | 0-0-0-0-0-0-2 | 0-0-0-0-0-0-2 | 0-0-0-0-0-0-2 |
| Dark-eyed Junco | 0-0-1-0-1-0-2 | 0-0-0-0-1-0-3 | 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 | 0-0-0-0-1-2-3 |
| No. Cardinal | 2-1-0-2-1-1-2 | 0-0-1-0-2-0-1 | 0-1-1-1-1-0-3 | 0-2-0-0-2-1-2 |
| Common Grackle | - | - | - | - |
| Br Headed Cowbird | - | - | - | - |
| House Finch | 0-0-0-0-1-2-3 | 0-0-0-0-2-1-6 | 0-0-0-0-3-0-5 | 0-0-0-0-3-0-8 |
| Am. Goldfinch | 0-0-0-2-11-0-1 | 0-0-0-13-4-1-6 | 0-0-0-10-7-0-2 | 0-0-0-15-8-0-4 |
| House Sparrow | 55-55-50-80-50-80-30 | 65-35-70-80-30-40-50 | 60-60-20-80-30-30-30 | 50-65-6-10-60-60-50 |
*Note: The "200" count for starlings isn't a typo. We had a huge flock land in our backyard - on a scheduled "watch day" for about 15 minutes. The ground was covered with starlings! Since this is an invasive species, this was not an inspiring sight, however. Wouldn't it be great if I could sometime see my backyard covered with hundreds of chickadees!
Weeks 5 - 8 (roughly mid-December through mid-January).
An 'x' means I was not able to participate during that count period.
| Week 5 2000-2006 |
Week 6 2000-2006 |
Week 7 2000-2006 |
Week 8 2001-2007 |
|
| # of Species | 7-7-6-7-10-6-7 | 4-4-4-8-14-7-12 | 7-6-6-12-12-10-9 | 3-7-7-5-8-10-10 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0-0-0-1-0-0-0 | 0-0-0-0-1-0-0 | 0-0-0-1-1-0-0 | 0-0-0-0-0-1-0 |
| Rock Dove | - | - | - | - |
| Mourning Dove | 0-1-2-1-1-3-3 | 0-0-4-3-3-3-9 | 4-0-15-7-3-2-0 | 0-0-4-0-2-2-1 |
| Red-bellied Wdpckr | 0-0-0-0-1-0-0 | 0-0-0-0-1-1-0 | 0-0-0-1-1-0-0 | - |
| Downy Woodpecker | 0-1-0-0-1-1-1 | 0-0-0-0-1-1-3 | 0-1-1-1-0-1-1 | 0-1-2-0-1-2-1 |
| Hairy Woodpecker | - | - | - | 0-0-0-0-0-1-0 |
| Northern Flicker | - | - | - | - |
| Eastern Phoebe | - | - | - | - |
| Blue Jay | 3-3-2-1-2-0-0 | 3-3-0-5-4-1-1 | 4-2-2-4-1-3-2 | 2-4-2-0-3-1-0 |
| American Crow | 2-2-0-0-0-0-0 | - | 1-4-0-0-0-0-0 | 0-3-0-0-0-0-0 |
| Blk-cappedChickadee | 1-2-4-1-5-2-5 | 3-3-4-2-3-2-4 | 3-1-4-5-5-4-3 | 0-2-3-5-3-2-4 |
| Tufted Titmouse | - | 0-0-0-0-0-0-2 | 0-0-0-0-1-0-0 | - |
| Red-br Nuthatch | 0-0-0-0-0-1-0 | 0-0-0-1-0-0-0 | 0-0-0-1-0-1-0 | 0-0-0-1-0-0-1 |
| White-br Nuthatch | 0-0-0-0-2-0-0 | 0-0-0-0-1-1-1 | 0-0-0-1-1-1-1 | 0-0-0-1-1-1-1 |
| American Robin | 0-0-1-0-0-0-0 | 0-0-0-0-1-0-0 | 0-0-0-0-1-0-0 | 0-1-0-0-0-0-0 |
| No Mockingbird | 1-0-0-0-0-0-0 | - | - | 0-0-1-0-0-0-0 |
| European Starling | 1-0-80-0-0-0-0 | 1-0-0-0-6-0-0 | 1-0-0-0-0-0-0 | 3-0-0-0-0-0-0 |
| Am Tree Sparrow | - | - | - | - |
| Chipping Sparrow | - | - | - | - |
| Fox Sparrow | - | - | - | - |
| Song Sparrow | - | - | - | - |
| WhThr Sparrow | - | 0-0-0-0-0-0-2 | - | - |
| Dark-eyed Junco | 0-0-0-1-0-1-1 | 0-0-0-1-2-0-6 | 2-0-0-1-0-3-1 | 0-0-0-0-0-0-3 |
| Northern Cardinal | 1-2-0-0-2-0-0 | 0-1-1-1-1-0-1 | 0-1-1-0-1-2-1 | 0-1-2-0-0-2-2 |
| Common Grackle | - | - | - | - |
| Br Headed Cowbird | - | - | - | - |
| House Finch | 0-0-0-0-1-0-15 | 0-0-0-0-3-0-18 | 0-0-0-1-15-3-9 | 0-0-0-0-1-1-2 |
| American Goldfinch | 0-0-0-7-2-0-2 | 0-0-0-7-12-0-5 | 0-0-0-15-30-0-2 | 0-0-0-8-3-0-1 |
| House Sparrow | 60-40-60-60-50-50-50 | 75-60-3-40-50-50-10 | 80-60-6-55-60-30-20 | 50-60-20-10-70-50-10 |
Weeks 9 - 12 (roughly mid January through early February).
An 'x' means I was not able to participate during that count period.
| Week 9 2001-2007 |
Week 10 2001-2007 |
Week 11 2001-2007 |
Week 12 2001-2007 |
|
| # of Species | 3-6-8-9-6-6-10 | 9-9-8-9-7-14-15 | 3-7-7-10-11-9-11 | 6-8-10-10-6-8-11 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0-0-1-1-0-0-0 | 1-1-0-1-0-1-0 | 0-0-0-0-1-0-0 | 0-1-0-0-0--1 |
| Rock Dove | - | 0-0-2-0-0-0-0 | 0-0-1-0-0--0 | 0-0-2-0-0-0-0 |
| Mourning Dove | 0-2-17-2-0-0-2 | 6-2-6-7-0-3-1 | 0-0-3-10-3-1-1 | 0-2-3-7-1-7-4 |
| Red-bellied Wdpckr | - | 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 | - | - |
| Downy Woodpecker | 0-0-1-0-0-2-1 | 0-2-1-0-0-1-2 | 0-1-0-0-0-3-1 | 0-1-2-0-0-1-1 |
| Hairy Woodpecker | - | 0-0-0-0-0-1-0 | - | - |
| Northern Flicker | - | - | - | - |
| EstrnPhoebe | - | - | - | - |
| Blue Jay | 0-1-4-0-2-1-0 | 3-3-4-0-2-1-1 | 0-3-2-1-3-2-0 | 1-3-2-3-3-0-0 |
| American Crow | 0-1-0-0-0-0-0 | 1-5-0-0-0-0-0 | 2-3-0-0-0-0-0 | 1-0-0-0-0-0-0 |
| Blk-cappedChickadee | 3-1-4-7-4-3-4 | 4-2-6-5-3-4-4 | 0-1-4-6-1-5-4 | 4-3-3-6-2-5-6 |
| Tufted Titmouse | - | 0-0-0-0-0-2-2 | 0-0-0-0-1-0-0 | - |
| Red-br Nuthatch | 0-0-0-1-0-0-0 | 0-0-0-2-0-0-1 | 0-0-0-2-0-1-2 | 0-0-0-2-0-0-1 |
| White-br Nuthatch | 0-0-0-1-0-0-1 | 0-0-0-1-2-1-1 | 0-0-0-1-2-0-1 | 0-0-0-1-0-1-0 |
| American Robin | - | 0-0-0-0-1-0-0 | 0-0-0-0-1-0-0 | - |
| No Mockingbird | - | - | - | 0-0-1-0-0-0-0 |
| European Starling | 1-0-0-0-0-0-0 | 4-11-0-0-0-1-3 | 0-26-1-3-0-0-8 | 1-50-15-4-0-0-3 |
| Am Tree Sparrow | - | - | - | - |
| Chipping Sparrow | - | - | - | - |
| Fox Sparrow | - | - | - | - |
| Song Sparrow | - | - | - | - |
| WhThr Sparrow | 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 | 0-0-0-0-0-0-2 | - | - |
| Dark-eyed Junco | 0-0-2-5-0-1-5 | 2-0-1-6-0-4-3 | 0-0-0-6-0-0-2 | 0-0-1-5-0-1-3 |
| Northern Cardinal | 0-1-1-2-1-0-1 | 1-2-2-1-1-1-5 | 1-2-1-1-2-2-1 | 1-2-2-2-1-1-2 |
| Common Grackle | - | - | - | - |
| Br Headed Cowbird | - | - | - | - |
| HouseFinch | 0-0-0-0-5-1-6 | 0-0-0-0-0-11-22 | 0-0-0-0-13-4-4 | 0-0-0-0-0-1-10 |
| American Goldfinch | 0-0-0-14-10-0-3 | 1-0-0-34-9-3-18 | 0-0-0-34-24-0-7 | 0-0-0-70-13-0-1 |
| House Sparrow | 60-60-40-6-30-30-10 | 60-70-35-30-40-20-20 | 40-60-6-50-50-50-3 | 80-60-40-40-50-30-12 |
Weeks 13 - 16 (roughly mid-February through early March)
An 'x' means I was not able to participate during that count period.
| Week 13 2001-2007 |
Week 14 2001-2007 |
Week 15 2001-2007 |
Week 16 2001-2007 |
|
| # of Species | 6-6-7-11-11-11-13 | 7-6-7-9-5-8-14 | 8-7-7-10-10-6-13 | 9-7-9-9-10-2-14 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0-1-0-1-0-1-0 | 0-0-0-0-0-1-0 | 0-0-0-1-0-0-0 | 1-1-0-1-0-0-0 |
| Rock Dove | 0-0-0-0-0-1-0 | 0-0-2-0-0-0-0 | - | 0-0-1-0-0-0-0 |
| Mourning Dove | 0-0-5-4-3-2-6 | 1-1-2-7-4-1-3 | 1-5-2-4-3-0-7 | 0-2-2-6-2-0-7 |
| Red-bellied Wdpckr | 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 | - | 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 | - |
| Downy Woodpecker | 0-1-0-0-2 | 0-1-0-0-0 | 0-1-1-0-1 | 0-0-0-0-1 |
| Hairy Woodpecker | - | - | - | - |
| Northern Flicker | - | - | - | - |
| Eastern Phoebe | - | - | - | - |
| Blue Jay | 2-3-1-4-2-1-0 | 4-2-2-4-2-0-1 | 3-2-2-3-3-0-1 | 2-2-5-2-1-0-0 |
| American Crow | 3-0-0-0-0-0-1 | 2-0-0-0-0-0-0 | 3-0-0-0-0-0-0 | 2-6-1-0-0-0-0 |
| Blk-cappedChickadee | 5-3-3-5-1-3-3 | 5-2-3-7-5-3-5 | 2-2-3-4-6-3-4 | 3-2-3-4-3-3-5 |
| Tufted Titmouse | 0-0-0-0-1-2-0 | 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 | 0-0-0-0-0-2-0 | 0-0-0-0-0-0-2 |
| Red-br Nuthatch | 0-0-0-1-0-0-0 | 0-0-0-2-0-0-2 | 0-1-0-1-1-0-2 | 0-0-0-2-1-0-1 |
| White-br Nuthatch | 0-0-0-2-1-1-1 | 0-0-0-0-0-1-1 | 0-0-0-0-1-1-1 | 0-0-0-0-1-0-1 |
| American Robin | - | - | - | 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 |
| No Mockingbird | 0-0-1-0-0-0-0 | - | - | - |
| European Starling | 1-0-4-1-10-2-4 | 5-0-5-23-0-4-3 | 6-0-9-1-0-0-20 | 2-0-3-0-0-0-2 |
| Am Tree Sparrow | - | - | - | - |
| Chipping Sparrow | - | - | - | - |
| Fox Sparrow | - | - | - | - |
| Song Sparrow | - | - | - | - |
| WhThr Sparrow | - | 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 | - | - |
| Dark-eyed Junco | 0-0-0-3-0-2-5 | 0-0-0-2-0-1-2 | 1-0-0-2-0-1-4 | 1-0-0-1-0-0-3 |
| Northern Cardinal | 1-1-2-1-1-1-2 | 1-2-2-2-0-0-2 | 1-2-2-1-2-2-1 | 1-2-2-2-2-1-3 |
| Common Grackle | - | - | - | - |
| Br Headed Cowbird | - | - | - | 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 |
| House Finch | 0-0-0-0-2-0-10 | 0-0-0-0-0-0-4 | 0-0-0-0-5-0-7 | 0-0-0-0-8-0-4 |
| American Goldfinch | 0-0-0-32-30-0-4 | 0-0-0-70-20-0-7 | 0-0-0-70-35-0-2 | 3-0-1-60-21-0-3 |
| House Sparrow | 70-50-40-35-30-30-10 | 60-40-4-45-20-40-5 | 80-75-40-50-40-25-6 | 70-50-5-40-20-0-6 |
Weeks 17 - 21 (roughly mid-March through early April)
Some years there are 21 weeks total and some have only 20 weeks.
An 'x' means I was not able to participate during that count period.
| Week 17 2001-2007 |
Week 18 2001-2007 |
Week 19 2001-2007 |
Week 20 2001-2007 |
Week 21 2001-2007 |
|
| # of Species | 6-7-x-9-6-11-14 | 10-8-7-11-12-8-11 | 14-11-7-12-9-14-15 | 11-11-11-8-7-16-13 | x-13-13-12-14-x-x |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0-0-x-1-0-0-0 | 0-0-1-0-0-0-0 | 1-0-0-1-0-0-0 | 0-0-0-0-1-1-0 | - |
| Rock Dove | - | - | - | 0-0-2-0-0-0-0 | - |
| Mourning Dove | 0-1-x-2-1-2-5 | 2-2-2-3-3-3-2 | 2-1-2-7-2-4-3 | 2-6-1-6-2-2-2 | x-6-5-3-2-x-x |
| Red-bellied Wdpckr | - | - | - | - | - |
| Downy Woodpecker | 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 | 0-1-0-0-0-0-1 | 0-1-0-0-1-1-1 | 0-1-0-0-0-1-1 | x-0-1-0-1-x-x |
| Hairy Woodpecker | - | - | - | - | - |
| Northern Flicker | - | - | - | - | - |
| Eastern Phoebe | - | - | - | 0-0-1-0-0-0-0 | - |
| Blue Jay | 3-2-x-4-0-2-1 | 4-3-2-2-2-0-1 | 1-3-2-3-1-3-0 | 1-3-1-0-0-1-2 | x-3-4-1-2-x-x |
| American Crow | 0-1-x-0-0-0-0 | 2-0-0-0-0-0-0 | 2-3-0-0-0-0-0 | 2-0-0-0-0-0-0 | - |
| Blk-cappedChickadee | 2-2-x-2-2-4-4 | 2-3-4-4-1-3-3 | 3-1-3-7-2-3-2 | 3-4-3-3-2-2-3 | x-2-3-3-2-x-x |
| Tufted Titmouse | 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 | - | - | - | - |
| Red-br Nuthatch | - | 0-0-0-2-0-0-0 | 1-2-0-2-0-2-0 | 0-0-0-1-0-1-0 | x-2-0-0-1-x-x |
| White-br Nuthatch | 0-0-0-0-0-1-0-1 | 0-0-0-1-1-2-0 | 1-0-0-1-0-1-1 | 0-1-0-1-0-1-0 | x-0-2-1-1-x-x |
| American Robin | 0-0-0-0-5-1-2 | 0-0-0-2-1-1-0 | 1-0-0-2-2-2-1 | 1-1-1-0-1-2-3 | x-2-2-2-2-x-x |
| No Mockingbird | - | - | - | - | x-1-0-0-0-x-x |
| European Starling | 3-2-x-0-0-1-1 | 2-0-2-0-4-0-1 | 4-0-0-0-0-2-2 | 1-1-0-0-0-0-1 | x-0-1-0-0-x-x |
| Am Tree Sparrow | - | - | - | - | x-0-0-0-1-x-x |
| Chipping Sparrow | - | - | - | - | x-1-0-0-0-x-x |
| Fox Sparrow | - | - | 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 | 0-0-0-0-0-1-0 | - |
| Song Sparrow | - | 0-1-0-0-0-0-1 | 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 | 0-0-2-0-0-1-1 | x-1-1-1-0-x-x |
| WhThr Sparrow | - | - | 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 | - | - |
| Dark-eyed Junco | 0-0-0-0-0-1-2 | 0-0-0-2-1-0-3 | 0-2-0-2-0-2-2 | 0-0-1-0-0-4-2 | x-4-2-2-2-x-x |
| Northern Cardinal | 1-2-x-2-2-1-2 | 2-2-2-2-1-2-2 | 1-2-2-1-0-2-2 | 2-1-2-1-1-1-0 | x-3-2-1-2-x-x |
| Common Grackle | 0-0-0-1-0-4-2 | 23-5-0-0-2-8-40 | 4-1-1-0-2-3-4 | 21-3-0-0-0-5-4 | x-12-11-2-2-x-x |
| Br Headed Cowbird | - | - | - | 0-0-0-0-0-0-2 | - |
| House Finch | 0-0-0-2-3-2-2 | 2-0-0-2-2-1-5 | 2-2-2-2-3-3-3 | 1-2-2-2-2-2-3 | x-4-2-2-2-x-x |
| American Goldfinch | 3-0-x-50-40-0-1 | 2-0-0-50-7-0-0 | 5-0-0-40-5-3-2 | 4-0-0-40-0-3-4 | 0-0-0-4-12-x-x |
| House Sparrow | 40-60-x-40-40-20-10 | 45-50-5-40-20-10-10 | 80-40-7-40-20-9-10 | 40-40-7-20-8-7-6 | x-30-16-15-12-x-x |
