Nola

=**Height of Bird Feeder; Does it Affect Bird Visits?**=


 * Introduction: ** For my project I will be looking to see whether birds prefer higher or lower bird feeders. I will do this by setting up an experiment with two bird feeders, one higher and one lower, and seeing which is visited and eaten from more.


 * Question: ** Does height of bird feeder affect how many birds visit? If I hang two bird feeders at different heights which will attract more birds?

What is the best place for a bird feeder? **Rollerfeeder.com** writes that it is important for your bird feeder to be around eye level or a little higher. Southern States writes that different heights of bird feeders attract a variety of species. Birds who are tree feeders such as woodpeckers, chickadees, and titmice prefer high feeders. Birds like finches and cardinals prefer to eat from shrubs. They would be more attracted to feeders at waist or eye level. Towhees on the other hand prefer feeders on the ground.
 * Research Summary: **

Based on the background information I researched and the fact that there are a majority of cardinals and finches in my back yard, my hypothesis is that the feeder placed at eye level will attract the most birds.
 * Hypothesis: **


 * Variables: **
 * Independent Variable - Height of the bird feeder
 * Dependent Variable - Amount of bird seed eaten
 * Controlled - Color, size, and shape of the bird feeders and the type and amount of bird seed


 * Materials: **
 * 2 bird feeders of the same color, shape, and size
 * birdseed

1. Hang both feeders in the same tree, one at 5 feet 4 inches (eye level) and the other at 11 feet. 2. Leave feeders out for 5 days. 3. After 5 days, check the feeders and measure how much bird seed was eaten. Record data. 4. Leave out for another 5 days. 5. After another 5 days, check the feeders and measure how much bird seed was eaten. Record data. 6. Collect all the data and turn it into a graph.
 * Procedure: **

I had two identical bird feeders. They were the same shape, size, and color. I hung both of the feeders in the same tree in my backyard. However, they were at different heights. I hung the first bird feeder at 5 feet 4 inches which is around eye level. I hung the second bird feeder much higher at 11 feet. I used the same type of bird seed in each of my feeders. I made marks every quarter inch on the side of my feeder using a ruler. This was how I measured how much seed had been eaten. I checked the bird feeders after five days, measured how much had been eaten, refilled them, and put them out for another 5 days. both feeders feeder #1 feeder #2 (my apologies for the quality of picture. The . feeder is too high to get a good shot)

When I observed my feeder during the first 5 days of my experiment I noticed only black capped chickadees visiting my feeder. You could tell they preferred bird feeder #2 (the higher one) because there was often two or three chickadees around bird feeder #2 and less around #1. During the second 5 days of my experiment I noticed some cardinals come to my feeder in addition to the black capped chickadees. I noticed the cardinals feeding from feeder #1 (the lower one) more often than they did feeder #2. The black capped chickadees still preferred feeder #2.
 * Observations: **

(at eye level) measured in inches || Amount of bird seed in feeder #2 (at 11 feet) measured in inches ||
 * Results and Data: **
 * || Amount of bird seed in feeder #1
 * October 17th || 12 1/2 || 12 1/2 ||
 * October 21st || 6 3/4 || 5 1/2 ||
 * October 22nd || 12 1/2 || 12 1/2 ||
 * October 26th || 4 || 4 1/2 ||

(at eye level) measured in inches || Amount of bird seed eaten from feeder #2 (at 11 feet) measured in inches ||
 * || Amount of bird seed eaten from feeder #1
 * First 5 days || 5 3/4 || 7 ||
 * Second 5 days || 8 1/2 || 8 ||

I am pretty pleased with how my experiment turned out. It worked well and I learned a few things about birds in the process. Everything worked really well except I wish I had used a different way to measure how much bird seed had been eaten. What I did was I made marks every 1/4 inch on the side of each of my bird seed and just measured how much seed was eaten that way. However, this didn't really tell me how much seed was eaten it just showed the difference between how much was eaten in feeder #1 v.s. feeder #2. If I were to redo the experiment I would change the way I measured how much seed was eaten. I think it would be relatively easy to measure the seed in cups. I would also make sure that I did the experiment for a longer peroid of time because I only did mine for 10 days which wasn't very long. And it would be cool to see if different kinds of birds other than black capped chickadees and cardinals came to the feeder. I think they just need more time to discover the feeders and I didn't do my experiment for lng enough for that to happen. I might also hang 3 or 4 feeders at varying heights instead of just 2 to see if that changes the results.
 * Discussion: **

My hypothesis wasn't fully supported because I discovered that different birds prefer different heights of bird feeders. I observed that the black capped chickadees preferred feeder #2 (the higher one at 11 feet) and the cardinals preferred feeder #1 (the lower one at 5 feet 4 inches). My alternate hypothesis is that different types of birds prefer different heights of bird feeders. To attract a variety of birds, I would recommend hanging a few different bird feeders at different heights.
 * Conclusion: **


 * Bibliography: **
 * "All About Birds." //Feeder Placement, Birding Basics.// N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. "Best
 * Locations for a Bird Feeder." - //Southern States Cooperative.// N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.
 * "RollerFeeder Backyard Bird Feeding Tips." //Bird Feeding Tips by RollerFeeder.// N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.