There aren’t any cicadas where I live. Can I still participate?

We would love participants from locations in any of the following states where cicadas are emerging: AL, AR, GA, IA, IN, IL, KY, LA, MD, MO, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, VA, and WI. This year we are interested primarily in understanding how broadly birds pick up the cicada habit, so we are asking for your observations on cicada foraging. Foraging data from areas where there are no cicadas present (both within the emergence zone and outside it) do not help us to understand what bird foraging choices in their presence.

I am not very good at bird identification. Can I still participate?

You don’t have to be an expert birder to participate! If you’re not very confident in your bird ID skills, we recommend you focus on the common birds you know. Pick a few, and familiarize yourself with their call and appearance using this handy guide or other guides like All About Birds. If you’re not absolutely certain of the identity of the bird you are observing, that’s still OK! In the data entry, you can indicate your level of certainty in your identification.

The bird I was observing flew away with a cicada (or other food item), but I didn’t see the bird eat it. Should I record it?

If a bird flies away with a cicada, it is likely going to eat it somewhere else or feed it to its nestlings. Definitely do record your observation. 

Can I watch birds at their nest or nest box?

Please do, but only if you can distinguish the male and female birds at the nest to make sure you are watching a single bird. Try to keep your eyes (or binocs) on the same bird for as long as possible, and to stop the observation if you can no longer see it. That way we know that your data represents a single individual, entered no more than once. Also be sure not to disturb the birds. 

What if I can’t tell if the bird is eating a cicada or non-cicada item?

Only record data if you are close enough to positively identify periodical cicadas from non-cicada foods. If you aren’t sure its a cicada, don’t record the data point. 

What if the birds are eating annual cicadas? How do I tell the difference between periodical and annual cicadas? 

Luckily for us, annual cicadas don’t come out until long after all of the periodical cicadas will be dead. If you see a cicada in a bird’s beak before early July, you can be sure that it is a periodical cicada. 

How many observations do I have to do?

There is no minimum number of observations, so long as you are observing different individual birds. Every little bit helps! If you observe multiple individuals of the same species capturing cicadas, each observation is viable, as it may help us to understand how frequently that species consumes cicadas compared to other birds.

When should I stop doing observations?

Our data collection will end soon after Brood XIII and XIX adults die. We suspect this will happen towards the end of June. 

There are a lot of ways to submit my data. Should I submit my data in multiple ways?

Please only submit your data once! There is no need to fill out both the Google Form and an Excel spreadsheet, for instance. There are many options so that you can pick the one that is easiest for you.

When should I submit the data I collect?

If you are collecting data on a Google Sheet, please share it with us when you are done collecting data for the season. If you are submitting untranscribed data sheets, We would prefer it if you sent them to us once per week. All Google Form entries are submitted to us the moment you hit submit, so no need to worry about timing. Please submit all of your data by July 15 at the latest. Anything submitted after the 15th of July may or may not be included in the study.

I am really curious to hear the results. How can I learn more?

We will be sending out a report with the results later this fall with our findings. We will send it to everyone who shares their email address with us when they submit data, unless you ask us not to. If you haven’t contributed data but still want to hear the results, shoot us a quick email at CicadaBirdFeast@gmail.com, and we will add you to our list.