A Brief History of Feeder Watching at Mass Audubon

Black-capped Chickadee. Photo by Christine Galisa.

Though the Northern Cardinal and Tufted Titmouse are common yearlong residents of Massachusetts it wasn't that long ago-the 1950's to be specific-when the sighting of either species was an unusual event. (In one of life's wonderful coincidences, the mother of our current President, Laura Johnson, reported the first nesting record of Northern Cardinal in Massachusetts in 1963.)

In 1964, the Allen Bird Club began asking people in western Massachusetts to report sightings of both Northern Cardinal and Tufted Titmouse. The following year, Mass Audubon assumed responsibility for the project, expanding it New England-wide in the late 1960's. A few years later, Northern Mockingbird, another relative latecomer to our local avian community, was added to the list. Thousands of records were submitted every year tracing the northward expansion of these three species, ostensibly in response to the moderating winters. You can view a graph of the results here. The level of public interest was phenomenal!

In 1988, the Conservation Department at Mass Audubon expanded the reporting to all feeder birds seen during the winter on the first weekend in February. Checklists were published in newspapers across Massachusetts to encourage participation, and the effort succeeded spectacularly. Department staff received thousands of responses, and summary reports were published in summer issues of Sanctuary magazine. So many responses were received that the capacity of the staff to analyze the information was overwhelmed, and after several years the project went into hibernation. In 1997, Focus on Feeders re-emerged and has been operating continuously to the present day. A summary of past results can be viewed here.

Focus on Feeders Continues and More!

In the more than 40 years since Mass Audubon began asking Massachusetts residents to report their observations, much has changed in the bird and birding landscape. More species characteristic of southern climates have expanded into the state (Carolina Wren, Red-bellied Woodpecker), the World Wide Web has revolutionized communication and data reporting and analysis, and numerous other organizations have added their own "feeder watch" programs.

As part of its effort to understand the state of the birds of the Commonwealth, Mass Audubon is expanding its efforts to engage volunteers to report on Massachusetts birdlife, including Focus on Feeders, the Oriole and Whip-poor-will Projects, and the Breeding Bird Atlas 2. The participation of thousands of people in these efforts has been and continues to be crucial to accomplishing our bird conservation objectives.

Thank you for your support, and please watch Mass Audubon's web site for updates as we continue our quest to document the "state of the birds of Massachusetts", and work together to preserve our common wealth of birds.