Isabel

=Bird V.S. Dog=

Question:
How does having a dog affect the amount of birds at my in my backyard? I have a dog at home, which helped me decide to use this question. She's a variable in our environment that I can control, which makes it an experiment that is easy to do.

Background Information:
My backyard contains a porch, small pond, multiple trees, a playhouse, and a bird feeder located up high right next to the porch. My dog is about three years old. She is small for her breed and barks fairly loudly. She tends to chase after squirrels, so if a large number of them are near the feeder, it could affect the outcome of the experiment. The feeder has been there for many years, so it's fairly established to the birds in the area. Birds are a constant at the feeder, so the experiment could probably be conducted at any point in the day. There are lots of trees, which make spotting birds difficult on rainy days. We have multiple beds of plants that birds love to hang out in. Seed will fall to the ground around the feeder, which attracts squirrels. Squirrels will hang around the treehouse, which can be a deterrent for birds. I've also created a table recording the birds in various places within the backyard prior to the experiment.

Before Experiment: Birds before October were recorded in the afternoon. Birds recorded in October and onwards. were recorded in the morning.
 * **Day** || **Amount of Birds at Feeder** || **Amount of Birds on Ground** || **Amount of Birds in Treehouse** ||
 * September 26, 2013 || 2 || 2 ||  ||
 * September 27, 2013 || 4 || 6 ||  ||
 * September 28, 2013 || 6 || 5 || 1 ||
 * September 30, 2013 || 3 || 9 || 1 ||
 * October 2, 2013 || 1 || 9 ||  ||
 * October 3, 2013 || 10 || 13 || 2 ||
 * October 4, 2013 || 5 || 15 || 1 ||









Hypothesis:
I predict that the dog will somewhat affect the amount of birds in the backyard. I believe that some birds will fly away while others remain. I expect this result because some birds may be used to the dog, while others may be new to the backyard. If a bird is used to the dog coming out and knows that she won't hurt it, then it might not fly away. Whereas a younger or new bird might be startled by the dog and fly back to it's nest.

Variables:
Independent Variable: The dog Dependent Variable: Number of Birds Control: I will make sure that the type of seed in the bird feeder is the same for all three weeks. I will observe the dog and reactions of the birds at the same time everyday.

Methods and Materials:
Before I begin the experiment, I will observe the birds without the dog in my backyard. Starting October 5, I will begin to record the data including the dog. Here are the tables I will use.

Before Experiment: During Experiment: Once I finish gathering data, I will upload it all to the computer and find patterns, etc. I will start recording the amount of birds in the backyar d with and without the dog on the fifth of October each morning. First, I will record for about five minuted the amount of birds in the backyard (ex. bird feeder, treehouse, flying, on the ground). After recording the amount of birds without the dog, I will release the dog into the backyard through the screened in porch. After that, I will leave the dog in the backyard and record how many birds arrive/stay. From there, the dog will be brought back inside. After collecting the data for three weeks, I will put it all on the computer and upload it to the page. Something I've noticed: If I try to record the birds after approximately 7:30 AM, there are very few. Beforehand, there is a large number of birds, but once they get their food in the morning, the birds are gone. It has been very wet/rainy recently, and those days will be marked on the tables.
 * **Day** || **Amount of Birds at Feeder** || **Amount of Birds on Ground** || **Amount of Birds in Treehouse** ||
 * September 25, 2013 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * September 26, 2013 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * September 27, 2013 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * September 28, 2013 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * September 29, 2013 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * September 30, 2013 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * October 1, 2013 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * October 2, 2013 ||  ||   ||   ||
 * **Week/Day** || **Number of Birds Without Dog** || **Number of Birds With Dog** ||
 * Week 1/October 5, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 1/October 6, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 1/October 7, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 1/October 8, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 1/October 9, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 1/October 10, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 1/October 11, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 2/October 12, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 2/October 13, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 2/October 14, 2014 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 2/October 15, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 2/October 16, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 2/October 17, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 2/October 18, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 3/October 19, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 3/October 20, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 3/October 21, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 3/October 22, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 3/October 23, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 3/October 24, 2013 ||  ||   ||
 * Week 3/October 25, 2013 ||  ||   ||

Results and Data:
See this file for the table version of the data in the graphs.







Discussion:
There are things that worked and didn't work in the project. Originally, I tried to keep track of the birds in the afternoon. This didn't work because the birds were not coming in the afternoon. I even figured out that if I tried to watch the birds after about 7:30 am, there would be many fewer. I had to watch more than the feeder, because enough birds didn't come to the feeder alone. If I were to do the experiment again, I would prefer it not to be so wet, though I can't control that. I would also try to wake up earlier, to track the birds when there were more of them. I would keep better track of when the bird feeder was running out of seed and I would avoid having a second dog on the final day. The last thing I would change is that I would try it A) at a different time of year (ex. summer/spring) and B) for a longer period of time. My hypothesis was definitely supported. Almost every day, the amount of birds was higher when the dog was inside than when she was outside. As is proved by the graphs and tables.

Bibliography:
"Google Maps." //Google Maps //. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.