Select your FeederWatch Count Site

Your FeederWatch Count Site should be an area with bird feeders that is convenient to observe, such as a backyard outside a kitchen or dining room window. Select an area as large as you can consistently observe from week to week. Be sure you can see the entire Count Site from one location. Choose obvious boundaries, such as the border of your yard or an area within a courtyard. Most Count Sites are roughly the size of two tennis courts. Once you have chosen your site, count birds at this same site all season.

Before the end of the season, be sure to describe your Count Site using the Count Site Description Form found on the first page of your Data Booklet. To describe your site online, go to "Your Count Site" in Data Entry, and click on the "describe site" link. It is important to update this description every year to help scientists understand how environmental factors may influence the kinds and numbers of birds that visit your yard.

For more information about how to create a Count Site that will be attractive to birds, see About Birds & Bird Feeding.

Moving or heading south for the winter?

If you move or switch FeederWatch locations during the winter, fill out a different Count Site Description Form for each site and use the new site's zip code on all Data Forms. You may request an additional Data Booklet from the FeederWatch office in your country.

If you enter your data online, create an additional Count Site on "Your Count Site" page in Data Entry by clicking "Create a New Count Site." Be sure to let us know where to mail your newsletters and Research Kit.