Birdfeeder Visits Related toTime of Day
Why birds? Why should we care?
● learning bird patterns in order to monitor which birds may return to
campus after winter
● monitor certain bird populations over time on the campus
● control over the insect population on campus and losing them would
increase the amount of insects
● spread seeds throughout the campus
Our Research Project
● observed birds in the science building courtyard
● schedule of what times we would watch the birds at the feeder
● recorded
● what birds showed up to feed
● how many birds entered the designated area
Studies like ours
● Esquivel, A. and Peris, S., 2008: study in Paraguay, looking at pre-dawn to
mid-morning bird visit patterns
● Robbins, C.S., 1981: study on Maryland bird breeding patterns based on
time of day across the day
Hypothesis 1
● H0: there are no differences in bird species composition at different times
of the day
● HA: there are differences in bird species composition at different times of
the day
Hypothesis 2
● H0: there is no difference in the number of birds visiting at each time of
the day
● HA: there is a difference in the number of birds visiting at each time of the
day
Methods: Time of Day
● morning: 7 – 10 am
● afternoon: 12 – 4 pm
● evening: 4 – 6 pm
Methods: Location
Methods: Location
Additional Parameters
●
●
●
●
weather
temperature
exact times
species
Overall Top 6 Bird Species Seen
● House Sparrow – 208
● House Finch – 169
● Junco – 138
● Chickadee – 67
● Mourning Dove – 63
● White Throated Sparrow – 51
out of 752 total birds seen during our observations.
Top 6 Bird species in Morning
● Junco – 65
● House Sparrow – 57
● House Finch – 55
● Cardinal – 18
● Mourning Dove – 16
● Tie between Red-Bellied Woodpecker and Song Sparrow
out of 217 total birds seen in our morning observations
Top 6 Bird Species in Afternoon
● House Sparrow – 37
● House Finch – 34
● Chickadee – 32
● Junco – 23
● Mourning Dove – 10
● White Throated Sparrow – 8
out of 159 total birds seen in the afternoon observations
Top 6 Bird Species in Evening
● House Sparrow – 114
● House Finch – 80
● Junco – 50
● White Throated Sparrow – 43
● Mourning Dove – 37
● Chickadee – 34
out of 376 total birds seen in evening observations
A Guide to the Six Most
Commonly Seen Birds
1. Mourning Doves
● perching feet—three toes
forward and one reversed
● short, reddish legs
● short, dark beaks, usually with
a brown-black hue.
● commonly sunbathe & rain
bathe
● can also bathe in shallow pools
or birdbaths and dust bathe
2. House Finch
● urban and suburban areas
across North America
● semi-open areas in the west
● nests made in cavities
● young are silent for the first
seven or eight days, and
subsequently, start peeping
during feedings
3. House Sparrow
● associated with human
habitation
● strong dimorphism
● most vocalizations are
variations on its short and
incessant chirping call
4. Junco
● breeding habitat is coniferous
or mixed forest areas
● aka “snowbird” because it
escapes cold mountains and
boreal forests to gather in
flocks at backyard bird feeders
● pinkish bills and white outer
tail feathers.
5. Chickadee
● native to North America
● hide and retrieve seeds for
winter
● black cap and bib
● white cheeks and gray back,
wings, and tail
6. White-Throated Sparrow
● two adult plumage variations:
tan-striped and white-striped
forms.
● breed in central Canada and
New England
● migrates to the southern and
eastern US in winter
● eat seeds, insects, and berries
Discussion
more visits in evening
least active in the afternoon
moderately active in the morning
Esquivel and Paris’s study found the highest levels of activity within the
first hour after sunrise
● Robbins’s study found that birds were more active breeding in the early
morning
●
●
●
●
Discussion
● Cardinals were mostly seen in the morning
● Red-Bellied Woodpecker and Song Sparrow were only seen in the morning
● Esquivel and Paris found that there was some variability in the patterns of
the species they watched
● if one wants to see large quantities of birds, visit in the evening
● if one wants to see many types of birds, visit in the morning
Works Cited
Esquivel, A. and Peris, S., 2008. Influence of time of day, duration and number of counts
in point count sampling of birds in an Atlantic Forest of Paraguay. Ornitologia
Neotropical, 19, pp.229-242.
Robbins, C.S., 1981. Effect of time of day on bird activity. Studies in avian biology, 6(3),
pp.275-286.
Birdfeeder Visits Related to Tim
Unangst
Birds are important for spreading seeds
Population count can help understand migra
study, we decided to focus on a feeder on th
College campus. We observed the feeder for
times a day—morning, afternoon, and eveni
week. During our study, we discovered that
active in the evening, moderately active in t
least active in the afternoon. We observed t
birds that were most commonly seen throug
day. These birds were house sparrows, hous
chickadees, mourning doves, and white-thro
These same six species were almost always
species seen throughout each time of day; he
morning’s most prevalent species were the c
bellied woodpecker, and the song sparrow. I
found that the birds were most active in the
future, in order to observe the birds properly
them all throughout the day since the compo
birds varies throughout the day.Birdfeeder Visits Related to Tim
Unangst
Birds are important for spreading seeds
Population count can help understand migra
study, we decided to focus on a feeder on th
College campus. We observed the feeder for
times a day—morning, afternoon, and eveni
week. During our study, we discovered that
active in the evening, moderately active in t
least active in the afternoon. We observed t
birds that were most commonly seen throug
day. These birds were house sparrows, hous
chickadees, mourning doves, and white-thro
These same six species were almost always
species seen throughout each time of day; he
morning’s most prevalent species were the c
bellied woodpecker, and the song sparrow. I
found that the birds were most active in the
future, in order to observe the birds properly
them all throughout the day since the compo
birds varies throughout the day.Birdfeeder Visits Related to Time of Day
Erim
Unangst
Birds are important for spreading seeds and insect control.
Population count can help understand migration habits. For our
study, we decided to focus on a feeder on the Cedar Crest
College campus. We observed the feeder for three months, three
times a day morning, afternoon, and evening and five days a
week. During our study, we discovered that birds were more
active in the evening, moderately active in the morning, and
least active in the afternoon. We observed that there were six
birds that were most commonly seen throughout each time of
day. These birds were house sparrows, house finches, juncos,
chickadees, mourning doves, and white-throated sparrows.
These same six species were almost always the dominant
species seen throughout each time of day; however, the
morning’s most prevalent species were the cardinal, the red-
bellied woodpecker, and the song sparrow. In conclusion, we
found that the birds were most active in the evening. In the
future, in order to observe the birds properly, one must observe
them all throughout the day since the composition of species of
birds varies throughout the day.
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