K, Goss
Mr. Stadille
1/4/10
Per. 2
How birds react to a fake owl
Abstract: I put an owl on a branch above a feeder and waited to see if any birds would go to the feeder and they didn’t show up. When I had the owl hidden behind me the birds went to the feeder. So even though it was a fake owl the birds are still afraid of them. For more detail read the rest of the lab report
Introduction:What will happen when I put a fake owl near a feeder? My hypothesis is that the birds are going to fly away when they see the owl. I am going to use a feeder near my school to conduct the experiment.
Materials and methods: To conduct the experiment I used a fake owl, a feeder, and binoculars. I went to the feeder and sat for two minuets and waited for the birds to come back. Then I started counting. After five minuets I got out the owl and put it in the tree next to the feeder. Then I went back to my spot and waited for the birdsbut the birds did not come back.
Results: I did one more day of the experiment and got little variation. A lot of the birds after the owl was put out counted on the first day where White-crowned Sparrows. The second day I did the same thing and got more data. These are the numbers I got.
Discussion: Some improvements I would make in my experiments are. I had to clime a tree and it took a long time to set up my owl and that could haveeffected my results. My improvement would be that I could make a stand to put my fake owl on. I was always moving around and the birds might have though of me as a predator and not come to the feeder. And finally there where people who came in during my experiment and scared the birds away and those people effected my resultsmy improvements would to do this in a remote area with no people. My improvements stand farther away and for me to be in a gilley suit. My hypothesis was correct the birds did not go near the feeder.
Acknowledgments:I would like to thank Mr. Stadille my nature studies teacher for lending me the owl I used, Mr. Hohenberger for letting me use his feeders, and Mr. Caplan for helping me on the computer.