One Sunday last fall, for
example, in Greenwich, Connecticut, Greenwich Audubon chapter members and the public
toured five successful home-feeder sites, most of them maintained by long-time
Greenwich-area Feeder- Watchers. Not only did the "tourists" learn how to
attract feathered backyard diners from the real experts, they got to try out
FeederWatching for themselves. Back at the Greenwich Audubon Center, the staff had set up
a FeederWatch demonstration site, and a state wildlife biologist was on hand to talk about
backyard habitats.
Ann Sawyer, president of the Greenwich Audubon Society, says her
chapter offers local Feeder- Watchers telephone support, especially help in answering
tricky bird identification questions. In addition, she says, "The chapter meetings
provide a chance for FeederWatchers who are also Audubon members to socialize and compare
FeederWatching notes." Not surprisingly, Greenwich has a high concentration of
stalwart FeederWatchers.
In California, several Audubon chapters and centers are taking active
FeederWatching roles. Garth Harwood, chapter manager of the Santa Clara Valley Audubon
Society and a veteran FeederWatcher himself, says he sees his office as a clearinghouse of
information and troubleshooting tips for Feeder- Watchers in his area. Garth says the
office grounds provide a good FeederWatching site where Nuttall's Woodpeckers and
Chestnut-backed Chickadees are regular visitors.
Merle Sundove, education coordinator of the Richardson Bay Audubon
Center and Sanctuary near San Francisco, says her 11-acre Great Outdoor Classroom area
makes a good FeederWatch demonstration site right at the center. She also encourages
teachers in her bird-education programs to join Project FeederWatch. She sees it as a good
follow-up to her programs--an "action project."
And yet another Californian, Ann Westling, of Sierra Foothills Audubon,
uses Project Feeder- Watch as a follow-up to her "Introduction to Birds, Birds,
Birds" classroom talks. She says if she sees a schoolyard area that looks like it
could support a bird feeder or two, she tells the teachers they could be FeederWatching.
Back in Alabama, Stephen Jones, president of the Cullman Audubon
Society, teaches the general public all about FeederWatching in his "Backyard
Birding" continuing-education classes conducted through the Cullman city school
system. And the Lycoming Audubon Society in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, supports a couple
of fourth- and sixth-grade Feeder- Watching classrooms. John Karcher, of the chapter's
education committee, says chapter members provided 50 pounds of birdseed, 20-gallon
aluminum cans in which to store the seed, and plenty of bird identification and other
educational support for the young FeederWatchers and their teachers. Thanks to other
Audubon chapters for your FeederWatching efforts, too.
The Audubon/FeederWatch partnership is proving to be a strong one,
furthering our shared goals of bird education and conservation.