Sarah

Does The Kind Of Tree That A Feeder Is In Affect How Many Birds Come To That Feeder?

Independent variable: What kind of tree the feeders are in. Dependent variable: How much bird seed is eaten each day.

Materials
 * 2 identical bird feeders
 * Bird feed (I am using a bird feed with sunflower seeds, peanuts, safflower, and pecans)
 * Two different kind of trees that are relatively near each other and in a spot that I can easily monitor (The two different trees I am using is a Maple and a Poplar)

Method I will take two bird feeders and put them in two different kinds of trees. I will note what kinds of trees I am using. I will put the same amount of bird feed in each feeder. At the end of each day I will see how much bird feed was eaten from each feeder and then refill it with feed. I will do that everyday for as long as possible. Also everyday I will note what the weather is like to see if that makes a difference.

Hypothesis I think that it will not matter what kind of tree is is. Unless it is stormy weather then I think more birds will go to a tree with more coverage so if one of the trees is thicker or has more leaves I think they will go to that one in stormy weather.



I have had my bird feeders up for around two weeks and so far no birds have eaten from it. I am a bit confused because we have had feeders in the same place in the past and birds have come and eaten from them. On the national aviary site there is an article that talks about how in early fall not as many birds may come to your feeder because there is more weed seeds and berries so the birds do not depend as much on the bird feeder. So that may be one reason no birds are coming.

Maple Tree Poplar Tree
 * || Amount o f bird seed eaten || Weather that day ||
 * day 1 || 4/8 of a cup || sunny ||
 * day 2 || 2/8 of a cup || sunny ||
 * day 3 || 1/8 of a cup || rainy ||
 * day 4 || 6/8 of a cup || sunny ||
 * day 5 || 4/8 of a cup || chilly and sunny ||
 * || Amount of bird seed eaten || Weather that day ||
 * day 1 || 2/8 of a cup || sunny ||
 * day 2 || 2/8 of a cup || sunny ||
 * day 3 || 2/8 of a cup || rainy ||
 * day 4 || 6/8 of a cup || sunny ||
 * day 5 || 5/8 of a cup || chilly and sunny ||

Conclusion As far as I can see my hypothesis was supported. On most of the days the amount of bird seed eaten from each tree was equal. There was one day where more bird seed was eaten from the Maple and two days where more seed was eaten from the Poplar so it seems they preferred the Poplar a tiny bit but not much. I did not have a lot of data so this is not very well supported. If I had more time I would have gotten a much more conclusive answer. But as I said earlier it took the birds a very long time to start coming to my feeder

Bibliography

"All About Birds." //Frequently Asked Questions, Ask an Expert//. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. . //Backyard Bird Feeding (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)// (July 1992): 1-24. Print. "No Birds at Feeder?" //The National Aviary -//. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.