JACOB

=Munching Together?=

Will birds eat more from a bird feeder with or without fake birds on it?
 * Question**

I want to know if birds will prefer to eat out of a feeder with other birds already on the feeder or whether they will prefer to go to a feeder without other birds nearby. I got this idea when we were discussing ideas in class and we wondered if birds would be scared by a fake hawk. I wondered if they would also be scared or prefer not to eat with non-predator birds such as a goldfinch or a cardinal.

My hypothesis is that the real birds will eat more from the feeder that doesn't have fake birds on it because they won't like all the activity on the bird feeder whether or not they can tell if the fake birds are real or not.
 * Hypothesis**


 * Materials**
 * Two identical bird feeders
 * One fake Cardinal
 * A fake Goldfinch
 * Kaytee Nut & Berry Blend Birdseed
 * 2 cup measuring cup
 * Notebook for recording data

First I will get two identical bird feeders. I will fill them both with two cups of the same kind of birdseed, Kaytee Nut & Berry Blend. I will hang them up outside on the same side of the house and leave them out for a day before recording results so the birds get used to them being there. On one of the feeders I attached two fake birds; one cardinal and one gold finch. For five consecutive days I will take measurements from each feeder at the same time of day to see how much seed the birds have eaten. I will record my results in a table and refill the bird feeders to two cups and hang them back up.
 * Methods**

Feeder with fake birds Feeder with no fake birds


 * Independent Variable**
 * Whether the bird feeder has fake birds sitting on it or not


 * Dependent Variable**
 * Amount of birdseed eaten by the birds


 * Control Variables**
 * The bird feeder type
 * Measured data at same time of day; 5:30 pm
 * Always use Kaytee Nut & Berry Blend birdseed.
 * Fill the feeders with 2 cups of birdseed every night.
 * Same two fake birds
 * Weather was the same for both feeders

I visited some websites to try to determine if birds like to eat in groups or not. It seems like on a whole they are social but I couldn't fine any concrete evidence that they are social when eating. I also tried to find out it certain birds liked to hang out more together or would be frightened by each other. Of course, the smaller birds found in my backyard would not want to be around birds of prey but I couldn't find out whether the types of birds in my backyard are social with each other or not.
 * Research**


 * Birds That Are Common to My Backyard**
 * Cardinals
 * Black Capped Chickadee
 * Goldfinch
 * Tufted Titmouse
 * Blue Jays


 * Results**

On four out of the five days, the birds ate more from the feeder without the fake birds. I had some problems with squirrels which distorted the data on days one and four. On Day 1, the feeder with fake birds was knocked down by squirrels, I assume. Therefore I don't think the data which measured 1 and 2/3 cups of seed eaten out of the feeder with fake birds is accurate. This also occurred with the feeder without fake birds on Day 4. Total cups eaten out of the feeder with fake birds is 2 and 1/6 cup and the total amount eaten out of the feeder without fake birds is 4 cups. Except on the day when the feeder with the fake birds was spilled, the seed eaten out the feeder with no birds was always more than the food eaten out of the feeder with fake birds.
 * Results Analysis**

Overall, the results supported my hypothesis that the birds would prefer to eat out of a feeder without other birds.They ate 4 cups of food out of this feeder and only 2 and 1/6 cups out of the feeder with the fake birds attached. I am not sure whether they recognized the birds as fake and therefore didn't want to approach the feeder or whether birds prefer to eat more alone. I could do some additional research on whether birds prefer to eat in groups or alone and also if certain types of birds are more social eaters. I was not able to observe the feeders for long periods of time but it would be interesting to note if particular types of birds were more inclined to eat with or without the fake birds. I would need to watch the feeders consistently or video tape them. I also think my data would be more reliable if I did the experiment for a longer period of time. The results of two of my days were skewed by spills of the seed from squirrels. Even if I throw out the data from those two days, my hypothesis would still be supported but it would be more reliable with additional days.
 * Graphs**
 * Discussion**

> >
 * Bibliography**
 * Bird Sleuth Investigator's Journal
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird
 * http://www.allaboutbirds.org/faq#q-my-son-brought-1