New research found North America has lost nearly 25 per cent of its birds since 1970.
But there is hope. Actions matter. When information from programs like Project FeederWatch and other citizen science initiatives are used to make decisions, we can improve the story for birds.
"To have thousands of people across the country spend 15 minutes every few weeks looking at their feeders not only helps us answer questions and create a picture of how our resident winter feeder birds are doing, but it’s also a lot of fun,” said Kerrie Wilcox the Canadian leader for Project FeederWatch at Birds Canada.
You don’t have to be an expert birder to take part in Project FeederWatch, which runs from Nov. 9 to April 4.
Having more people participate provides a clearer picture of both bird and environmental health.
Anyone can join Project FeederWatch in Canada by donating to Birds Canada, any amount is welcome.
FeederWatch-ers will receive a poster of common feeder birds, a calendar, last season’s results, and access to online data tools. Those making a minimum donation of $50 can also choose to receive the quarterly magazine BirdWatch Canada, produced by Birds Canada. Visit birdscanada.org/feederwatch, call 1-888-448-2473 or email [email protected].
Project FeederWatch is a joint research and education project of Birds Canada and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The conversation continues year-round on Facebook.com/groups/FeederWatchCanada/.
People of all ages and experience can count the birds that visit their feeders in winter to help Birds Canada and Cornell Lab of Ornithology understand how our backyard birds are doing.
FeederWatch celebrated 33 years of citizen scientists helping to improve our understanding of backyard birds across Canada. That means we now have over three decades of comparative results.
