Project FeederWatch tracks winter bird population trends

Project FeederWatch has released results from 2006/07 and with a new season just around the corner, Canadian co-ordinator Kerrie Wilcox is inviting you to join the team. With the help of volunteer participants, the Bird Studies Canada program Project FeederWatch has been collecting bird data every winter for over 30 years.

Last season, winter finches were the big story. FeederWatchers across central and eastern Canada reported significantly fewer of these birds at their feeders - likely a result of a bumper cone crop that kept the birds in northern and mountainous areas. When tree seeds (their main food) are in short supply, species such as Common Redpolls, Pine Siskins, and Pine Grosbeaks tend to move into more southern and lowland areas and descend upon feeders. After last year's bumper crops, most trees and shrubs have produced little or no seeds or fruit - so there may be record numbers of birds visiting feeders in 2007-08.

Project FeederWatch has revealed dramatic changes over the years, tracking erratic movements in some bird species, and documenting long-term range shifts that may reflect climate change. Several nonmigratory southern species such as Northern Cardinals, Carolina Wrens, and Red-Bellied Woodpeckers have expanded their ranges several hundred kilometres north into Ontario and Québec, perhaps signaling that northern regions have become more hospitable for them.

Feederwatchers help scientists to detect and understand population trends. These volunteers count the birds at their feeders once a week and send their data to Bird Studies Canada (BSC). In Canada, participants in Project FeederWatch are asked to become members of BSC, a national, non-profit institute dedicated to bird research and conservation. For an annual $35 membership fee, participants receive the FeederWatch instruction booklet, resource manual, data forms, a calendar, a poster of common feeder birds, and BSC's quarterly publication, BirdWatch Canada.

Contact Kerrie Wilcox, Canadian co-ordinator, 519-586-3531 ext. 217 or kwilcox@bsceoc. org or call Bird Studies Canada at 1-888-448-2473.