Media contact in U.S.: David Bonter, (607) 254-2457, email
Media contact in Canada: Kerrie Wilcox, (519) 586-3531, email

Photos available to the media to accompany this press release (click photo for high resolution version):

Mourning Dove by David Smith	Blue Jay by Lyn Winans	Northern Cardinal by Errol Taskin	Tufted Titmouse by Anne Middleton

Birds, Like People, are Flocking to the Southeast
Participants aid scientists by counting feeder birds

Ithaca, NY—Twenty years is a long time for a songbird. In fact, the birds at your feeders have passed through several generations in the last 20 years. During that same time, the Southeast has seen rapid development and increases in human populations. New research reveals that people are not the only animals moving to the region—some species of birds are, too! Bird watchers across the region have helped chart changes in the region’s feeder birds by participating in Project FeederWatch, a volunteer-based project led by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Anyone can contribute observations of birds seen at feeders during the winter months. Combined with reports from across the region, the information submitted by participants can help reveal trends in bird populations.

FeederWatchers help to document changes in the abundance and distribution of birds by simply watching and counting the birds at their own feeders. Each season brings new information about bird populations. For example, reports from the Southeast indicate that populations of two dove species are rapidly expanding their ranges in the region. The Eurasian Collared-Dove is not native to North America. However, after being introduced in the Bahamas and spreading to Florida in the 1980s, populations of this species have rapidly grown and expanded into new areas. FeederWatchers across the Southeast reported these doves last winter, and this new invader will likely be seen at feeders across the United States within a decade.

The White-winged Dove is moving into the region a bit more slowly. Unlike the Eurasian Collared-Dove, the White-winged Dove is native to North America. It has been spreading out if its historic range in Mexico and the Southwest, with birds seen most often in states along the Gulf Coast. This dove, too, will likely be seen at more feeders in the region in coming years.

Another surprising trend detected by bird watchers in the Southeast has been an increase in the number of hummingbirds in the winter. Many people are familiar with the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that buzz around flowers and nectar feeders in the summertime. Upon close inspection, however, most of the hummingbirds seen in winter are not the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that nest in the region, but rather western species that typically winter in Mexico. An increase in hummingbird feeders and flowers blooming year-round in suburban gardens may have increased the likelihood that any lost hummingbirds will survive the winter in the Southeast. Over time, this could lead to more and more hummingbirds traveling to spend the winter in the region.

What will the coming winter bring to bird feeders? You can help document changes in bird populations. The 21st season of Project FeederWatch gets underway in November and runs through early April 2008. Anyone in the United States and Canada can participate, and people of all ages and skill levels are welcome. To learn more about Project FeederWatch or to register, visit www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw or call the Lab toll-free at (800) 843-2473. In return for the $15 fee ($12 for Lab members) new participants receive the FeederWatcher’s Handbook, an identification poster of the most common feeder birds, a calendar, complete instructions, and the publication Winter Bird Highlights, featuring project results.

“FeederWatchers across the southeastern U.S. have helped create the world’s largest database of feeder-bird populations,” says ornithologist and project leader David Bonter. “To understand the effects of global climate change, habitat change, and other factors on birds, we need new and veteran participants to let us know what they are seeing in their own yards and neighborhoods.”

Note: The Southeast region for Project FeederWatch includes North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.

Top 10 birds reported by FeederWatchers in the Southeast in 2007:

• Northern Cardinal
• Mourning Dove
• Tufted Titmouse
• Carolina Wren
• American Goldfinch
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Carolina Chickadee
• Blue Jay
• Downy Woodpecker
• American Robin

Note: Local participants for stories are available upon request. Contact David Bonter at   (607) 254-2457 or by email.

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The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a nonprofit membership institution interpreting and conserving the earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds.