Hummingbirds and Other Gems of Winter

Project FeederWatch Annual Report

By David Bonter

Winter may not be the time you would expect to see hummingbirds in the Southeast or robins and bluebirds at feeders in the North, but with the help of FeederWatchers from across North America, we are learning more about the winter distribution of these and other feeder birds. FeederWatch reports are forcing us to reexamine the conventional wisdom, helping us to document population changes, and allowing us to redefine what is truly rare.

The vast amount of information submitted by FeederWatchers has increased our understanding of feeder-bird populations since 1987. Nearly 5.6 million observations of 481 bird species were reported during the 2003–2004 FeederWatch season alone. We received more than 99,400 checklists, bringing the cumulative FeederWatch database to nearly 1 million checklists submitted since 1987. This article highlights some of the results from the 17th FeederWatch season.

Hummingbirds in the South

Are robins really a sign of spring?

Wildfires and White-crowned Sparrows

Regional Top-Five Lists

Rare Bird Highlights

Anna's Hummingbirds winter from southern Alaska to northern Mexico, and as far east as western Texas. Photo by Donna and Roger Aitkenhead/CLO

For top-25 lists and additional rare bird reports, visit www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw.

 

For permission to reprint all or part of this article, please contact Laura Erickson, editor, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY, 14850. Phone: (607) 254-1114. email: lle24@cornell.edu