The 17th season of the FeederWatch program launched in early November. Pascale Bélanger-Lavallée, Expert environmental conservation patroller and project coordinator, hopes that this edition will be as successful as 2020-2021 - which was a record year for volunteer involvement in this citizen science project, both within our organization and across North America. Despite the pandemic, the number of participants in the count nearly doubled, in comparison with the previous season. A full report will be available on our website soon, but overall on Mount Royal, 58 volunteers conducted 188 counts identifying 1629 birds of 22 different species. 

Why is this project so important?

Researchers have recently calculated the global decline of bird populations in North America since the 1970s. Today, three billion fewer birds fly in our skies. This is of great concern for the future of their populations. It is essential to study bird populations in order to establish the causes of their decline and to collectively find solutions to ensure their recovery. To conduct these studies, we must first know where the birds are and how many there are. This work could not be done without the dedication of many passionate volunteers who give generously of their time to help build a large database! We are grateful to know that so many of them marvel at bird life and care about their future. 

You could participate too! We will be holding more workshops in December. Check the FeederWatch page on our website for dates.

Each count counts!