Cornell Project Feeder Watch: Homeschool Teaching and Enjoyment

For the past two years, our family has participated in the Cornell Project Feeder Watch program.  If you are not familiar with it, the program was put together so that the winter bird population could be observed all over North America. During that time of watching birds, we have seen Bald Eagles, baby chickadee’s, woodpeckers and “unknown” bird calls, identified.

In March of 2012, my husband spotted a bald eagle in a tree right next to his shop.  A few days later, we spotted the eagle soaring.

After that, I posted on my blog about how I was having trouble with my squirrels eating all of my food. I fixed that problem with my Dad making a chimney pipe to go underneath my feeders. PROBLEM SOLVED!

Then in June of 2012, I wrote here about how I found this baby Chickadee learning how to fly.

July 2012 rolled around and I kept hearing this bird calling but could not identify the bird. It lasted for weeks. Finally, after one of my followers suggested that it may be a Robin, I spotted the noisy bird. She was right! A robin was making all of the noise. Here is the bird call below.

I began this program with the kids so that I could teach them all about birds. It has also taught them (and me too!) to be much more observant of their surroundings and the wildlife surrounding them.  There is so much more to feeding birds than just providing food in a feeder.  You have different species that come to the feeder. Some birds are sick or have rare features. Other birds only appear at your feeder for a few days or weeks while they are migrating.

Project Feeder Watch has been such a huge help in my teaching.  Just last week, I received an email from Feeder Watch saying that they had just released a new bird ID app.  I was very excited about it!  I immediately downloaded it and I LOVE how user friend it is. It starts with some simple identification facts like what size was the bird, where did you see the bird, and what were the primary colors.  After you have made your selections, the app gives you a picture list of possible birds for your area.  You can also look at a map to see if the bird lives in your area as well as hear the bird call.  The picture selection is stunning!

To join Project Feeder Watch, there is a $15 fee. To participate, approximately every 7-10 days, you choose two consecutive days to watch your feeders and to count the different species you have as well as how many of each species.  They have a downloadable form to help you keep track of the birds, the precipitation for each day, hi and low temperature for both days and a few other other odds and ends.

This program is an amazing learning tool and I recommend it to everyone.  Even if you are not homeschooling, this is still a great way to watch the birds and assist with Cornell Ornithology.  Some 15-20 years ago, my dad started Project Feeder Watch with me while I was being home-schooled. I am very appreciative for the love of birds that it taught me and I hope that by having my children participate in Project Feeder Watch, they will also learn to love the birds.