Henry+C

=The Effects of Sound on Birds= =The Question:= Will the feeding habits of birds change depending on whether there is the sound of crickets? =Background Information:= After doing extensive research I found that noise really effects birds. In places near big roads and highways there are less birds because the noise scares them off. When placing your bird feeder you are supposed to put it in a place in your yard with the least amount of noise. So that means away from the road and away from the edge of your house. Part of the reason that I chose this question is because in the past I have noticed that birds react to the sound of crickets. My grandfather has a parrot. My mom had the sound of crickets for her timer and when it went of it made the parrot go crazy! =Hypothesis:= I think that the sound of crickets will trigger something in the birds mind to make it a predator. So I think when there is the sound of crickets will encourage the birds to visit the feeder more often. =Variables:= Control-the position of the bird feeder and what seed is in the feeder. Independent-whether there is no sound or the sound of crickets. Dependent-how many birds visit the feeder and how the birds react to sound or no sound. =Methods and Materials:=

Materials:
Bird feeder Mixed bird seed

Methods:
I will place my bird feeder on a hook at the edge of my deck. At the start of the week I will fill my bird feeder up with mixed bird seed. Everyday I will record data during a thirty minute interval. For half of the days I will record while the sound of crickets is playing from my phone. For the other days I will record with no cricket sound playing. Once I have collected all of my data I will put it up on a graph. I will show the least, most, and average amount of bird birds visiting the feeder during those times. =Results and Data:=

Observations:
While there was no noise the birds acted pretty normally. Most of the time the birds just flew up to the feeder ate the seed normally, then flew off when they were done or when something startled them. I had to watch from inside so as not to scare the birds off. Most off the birds that visited the feeder were smaller birds that I'm guessing were song birds. The birds were very colorful. The colors I saw were, red, yellow, blue, and I think I saw a bit of orange. While there was the noise of crickets playing the birds seemed to act pretty similarly to when there was no noise.

1st day:
When there was no sound no birds visited the feeder during the thirty minute period. When there was the sound of crickets playing no birds visited the feeder Conclusion-I think that this day was just an off day.

2nd day:
While there was no sound playing 7 birds came to my feeder during the thirty minute time period. While the sound of crickets was playing in the background a total of 8 birds visited the feeder during the thirty minute time period.

3rd day:
No birds came when there was no sound. No birds came while there the sound of crickets in the background.

4th day:
No birds came today either. I think the reason that the reason that no birds are coming is because between day 2 and 3 my dad and I stained our deck and the smell of the product was very pungent and I think that the smell scared off the birds.

5th day:
No birds came today while I was collecting data. =Graphs:= =Conclusion:= My hypothesis was pretty close to being a null hypothesis. I was disappointed by the results that I got. I was expecting to have more birds visit the feeder but it ended up being that only a couple of birds visited the feeder. I think that the reason that no birds came on most of the days is because of the smell that came from the deck stain er. I also think that part of the reason that the birds didn't really come to the feeder is because it has been very cold recently. The day that the birds did come I remember it being about 70 degrees F.

=Bibliography:= Buxaum, Marisa. "Noise Pollution Alters Bird Behavior." Noise Pollution Alters Bird Behavior. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. . = =