Bird Brain Hummingbird Feeders for Citizen Science
Audubon Invites Volunteers to Help Track Hummingbirds This Spring
Take your hummingbird feeders a step further by helping Audubon track the tiny sprites this season. All habitats and feeders are welcome; from the old bird brain hummingbird feeders to honeysuckle and trumpet vine to colorful annuals providing food…. watch near fountains too, another favorite of this flying jewel!
NEW YORK, NY (April 1, 2014) – With spring officially upon us, the National Audubon Society invites birders and nature enthusiasts across the country to help track the health of hummingbird populations with Audubon’s Hummingbirds at Home app. This citizen science project utilizes the power of volunteers to compile data at a scale that scientists could never accomplish alone.
Every spring, numerous hummingbirds migrate long distances and must eat several times their weight in nectar daily to stay alive. Hummingbirds visit our yards every year, looking for nectar from our gardens and feeders. As flowers bloom earlier because of warming temperatures, the impact on hummingbirds which rely on nectar could be significant. The degree to which hummingbirds are able to adapt to accommodate these changes is not completely understood. Hummingbirds at Home was designed to bolster current research by collecting data from volunteers across the country that offers important insight on the effects of climate change and the birds’ well-being.
“Increasingly people are seeing the impact of climate change in their own backyards, from early blossoms to extreme weather,” said Dr. Gary Langham, Chief Scientist at Audubon. “This is a fun, family-friendly citizen science project that works in the classroom or in the kitchen.” 
Hummingbirds at Home differs from other bird monitoring programs in that the focus is on recording the species, nectar sources, and feeding behavior observed. In the case of bloom timing mismatches, Audubon hopes to eventually learn if alternate nectar sources, like feeders, make a difference in hummingbird breeding success and survival.
Participants can get involved by spending a few minutes as frequently as they wish to collect invaluable data from feeding areas in their gardens and communities. Audubon’s Hummingbird at Home app makes it fun and easy. There is no cost to participate and using the free mobile app or website makes it simple to report sightings and learn more about these remarkable birds. For more information visit, www.hummingbirdsathome.org.
About Audubon
The National Audubon Society saves birds and their habitats throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education and on-the-ground conservation. Audubon’s state programs, nature centers, chapters and partners have an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire and unite diverse communities in conservation action. Since 1905, Audubon’s vision has been a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Audubon is a nonprofit conservation organization. Learn more at www.audubon.org and @audubonsociety.