THE
DIRECTIONS FOR THE FEEDER SURVEY
Feeder surveys are
conducted for one week starting the
first Sunday of each month from October through May.
This is a scientific project that I have been operating since
1959 that utilizes readers of this column who observe the birds in their yard
and report the numbers and species to me. It is a lot of fun and if you haven't
participated before, the following paragraphs describe what it is and how you
can help out.
Your observations will help me find out what birds are
visiting our yards and feeders throughout the winter. When the results are
printed, you can compare the number and types of birds at your feeder with
other feeders in the area. I will be
able to compare this years results to earlier years.
Participation in this fun project is open to all who live in
Central and Upstate New York State. Here is how I define the limits of that
area.
The northern boundary is the St. Lawrence River and Lake
Ontario west to Rochester.
From there the boundary goes south to Elmira and Binghamton.
From Binghamton the line goes north east along Interstate 88 to Albany and then
north on Interstate 87 to the border with Canada.
Thus it includes all of the Adirondacks and the Finger Lakes
regions.
For those of you familiar with the reporting regions of the
former Federation of NY State Bird clubs, it includes all of Regions 2 through
7 and part of 8 ( The Federation has a
new name, The New York State Ornithological Association ).
This feeder survey was started in the winter of 1958-59, and data have been gathered every year
since then. The idea was suggested by the late Dr. Francis Scheider. So this is
the start of the 45th year of this project.
In 1970, a feeder survey was initiated in England. In 1976,
one was started in Ontario, Canada, by the Long Point Observatory. The Cornell
Laboratory of Ornithology began a survey for the whole United States in 1987.
This is
what you do.
Starting on the
first Sunday of the designated month and continuing through Saturday, when you have a few minutes, look out the
window at the feeders in the yard, and record the number and species of all
birds that you can see from the house at that moment. These birds can be at the feeder or anywhere in sight.
Those flying by can be counted if you are sure of the
identification. You can record birds that you see when you are outside as long
as you are looking from a point right near the house. Birds seen on hikes
nearby are not to be included in the list.
To avoid counting the same bird more than once, write down
the maximum number of a given species that you see at one time. This way, you know that there are at least
that many birds visiting your yard.
Later that day or on another day during the week, check the
yard again and write down the number of each species that is visible at one
time during that period. Watch as often
as you like and keep these lists until the end of the week. You don't have to
watch every day, but any day Sunday through Saturday can be included.
Then, summarize your observations by preparing a single list
for me that shows the name of each species seen and the largest number of birds
of that species sighted at any one time during the week. For example, if you
see a total of 42 house sparrows this week, but never more than nine at a time,
nine is what you put on the list that you send in.
There may be more than nine house sparrows around your yard,
but we are certain that there are at least nine.
We conduct a survey for a week starting the first Sunday of
the month from October through May.
Through these surveys we see how the population of different species
changes throughout the winter. We can
also pick out long-term changes in the population of some species over the
years.
Preparing
the list.
There are several things you can do to make the tabulation easier
for me. First, it is a big help if each
list has the birds in the same order. If you can, please use what is called
"check-list" order. It is
the order the birds are listed in your field guide and the order I use when I
publish the list of birds seen on a survey.
The second way you can help is to put each species on a
separate line with the number of birds first and followed by the name of the species.
Please write the total number of species at the top of your
list.
Unusual birds. If you list a bird that is
unusual in this part of the country or should not be here at the time of the
survey, or closely resembles a species common in our area, please write a note
describing the field marks you observed and how you made your decision.
At the end of the week, put your final list on a postcard or
in a letter and send it to the address below. You can use EMAIL if you wish. If
you do use Email, please give your name and address so I will know where your
observations were made.
PLEASE send your report by Monday right after the survey so
that I can get the tabulation done in time to write up the results by the
following Saturday.
By Regular Mail: Ben Burtt, PO Box 4915, Stars Magazine,
Syracuse, NY 13221.
By E-Mail: Send to features@syracuse.com. Be sure to put
"For Ben Burtt" in the Subject Line.
How you can
read the Summary Report of the results.
About 3 weeks after a particular survey week ends, when the next
survey starts, A column on the web site will include a detailed
discussion of "The Feeder Survey
Results" It will include the
complete list of species, a discussion of all the trends and unusual birds
reported, as well as the longest and shortest lists, etc. Click on COLUMNS and
inspect the list of those available. Find the date where the topic states,
“Results of the Feeder Survey for the month of ---------then click on the date
of that column.
A brief discussion and summary of the observations is
published in the newspaper on that same date, but there is not enough space
there for all of the details that are in the summary of the survey on this web
site.