Julia


 * Julia's Bird Project**

=Do Birds like bread crumbs or bird seed better?=


 * Introduction:** I was wondering if birds would like bird seed, or bread crumbs better. As i thought about how i was going to set up the experiment, it occurred to me that it would be cool to compare two different types of bread crumbs as well. That gave me the idea to have one type of bird seed, and two different types of bread crumbs. Since i was testing what kinds of bread crumbs birds like better, as well as bread crumbs verses birdseed, i decided that the two different types of bread needed to be very different. I thought that two have one bread that is very healthy, and one bread that is very unhealthy, would be an interesting experiment.


 * Hypothesis:** I think birds will like bird seed better than Wonder Bread bread crumbs, or Natures Pride type of bread crumbs. Bird seed is made for birds to eat, and has more nutritional value for them. I think it will be cool to see which type of bread crumbs they like best, Wonder Bread or Natures Pride.


 * Independent variables:** The type bread crumbs and bird seed. I am going to measure how much the birds eat by putting out four cups of bread crumbs and four cups of bird seed in the bird feeders. Before I refill it each afternoon, I will measure how much the birds ate by remeasuring what remains in the bird feeder in a measuring cup.


 * Dependent variables:** Whether the birds eat more bread crumbs or bird seed.


 * Control variables:** I am going to put up all of the feeders at the same time so that one feeder won't have an advantage over another feeder. I am also going to refill all of the bird feeders at the same time so that my experiment will start out even everyday. Also, I am putting two different kinds of bread crumbs, and one kind of bird seed in three feeders, one type in each feeder.




 * Supplies:**
 * Wagner's bird seed (millet, milo, cracked corn, sunflower seed)
 * Three home made bird feeders
 * Wonder Bread bread crumbs
 * Natures Pride bread crumbs
 * Cord to hang my bird feeders from




 * Procedure:** I am going to make bread crumbs by letting the Wonder Bread and Natures Pride bread sit out all night until it's stale, and then I'm going to crumble it. I am also going to hang three identical homemade bird feeders. One bird feeder is going to be full of Wagner's bird seed, one is going to be full of Wonder Bread bread crumbs, and one bird feeder is going to be full of Natures Pride bread crumbs. I am going to measure out three cups of bird seed, and do the same thing for each type of bread crumbs, at the same time each day, and measure how much the birds eat.


 * Variables to consider:**


 * The weather might effect how much is eaten, but since all of the bird feeders are going to be out at once it shouldn't have too much of an impact on the overall experiment.
 * Where I hang up the bird feeders might affect how much is eaten. I hung them up close together in the hopes of avoiding this.
 * The height of the bird feeders also might affect how much bird seed and bread crumbs are eaten.
 * My dog being in the back yard for the last two days of my experiment might have affected how much bird seed and bread crumbs are eaten.
 * The humidity makes the bread crumbs swell, so some of my measurements may be slightly inaccurate.

seed || Wonder Bread || Natures Pride || Corn ||  ||   || Seed ||  ||   || Although the bread has very little in common with the ingredients of Wagner's Bird Seed, when you look at the label, you can see how many seeds are in Natures Pride in comparison to Wagner's bird seed, the difference is astounding. There are nine types of seeds in Natures Pride, and no seeds in the Wonder Bread.
 * Research:**
 * This is a chart of what are in the two different types of bread crumbs in comparison with the bird seed. The charts are based on the ingredients that are in the bird seed.
 * bird
 * Millet ||  || Millet ||
 * Milo ||  ||   ||
 * Cracked
 * Sunflower

Types || Wonder Bread || Wagner's Bird Seed || Natures Pride ||
 * Data:**
 * Bread
 * Day 1 || 2/3 cup eaten || 1 cup eaten || 1/2 cup eaten ||
 * Day 2 || 1/6 cup eaten || 1/2 cup eaten || 5/8 cup eaten ||
 * Day 3 || 1/4 cup eaten || 1/8 cup eaten || 1/6 cup eaten ||
 * Day 4 || nothing eaten || nothing eaten || nothing eaten ||
 * Day 5 || nothing eaten || nothing eaten || nothing eaten ||




 * Conclusion:** Over all, my experiment worked out well. I would say that my main issue, was that when i put the bread crumbs in the feeder, they swelled because of the humidity making my measurements inaccurate. If i were to do this experiment again, i would let my bread crumbs sit outside for a while, so that my measurements will be more accurate. As you see on day four and five nothing was eaten. My only theory for this is that was when my dog was in the yard, which might have scared all of the birds away. If you look to the right, i have a pie chart that is the over all result, versus the left where there are day to day results. Over all, the birds ate more bird seed than anything else. The main part of the experiment that does not support my hypotheses, is that the birds ate more Wonder bread, than Natures Pride. I was surprised at how close all of my results were, because i was expecting there to be more of a drastic difference. Over all the experiment was a success.