Your+assignment

Observing bird behavior 3rd Quarter Project: 50 points 

This quarter's project is to improve your observational skills. You will need a notebook/sketchbook, a way to identify bird species, and a place to watch birds. You will be watching one species of bird for a total of three hours over the course of the quarter. Reports are due April 1st.

What to do: Pick one species of bird.(Chickadee, house sparrow, Blue jay, crow, mourning dove, turkey, any type of bird that you have around your house.) Birds will start reappearing at the beginning of February, as the days get longer and the sun warmer. You do not have to set up a bird feeder, although that will make your task easier. You must tell me the species of bird you will be watching by February 4th. So spend the next two weeks looking around to see what birds are in your neighborhood.

Observe members of that species in fifteen to twenty minute intervals over the next nine weeks. Date and time each session. If the bird flies off and does not return after 5 minutes, and you don't go find it, it does not count as a session. If it flies off after 10, you need to add five minute to a session somewhere.) No session may be less than 15 minutes. I am going to ask your parents to sign off on your times. Do not wait till the end of March to start this.

In a notebook, write down everything the bird does. (Gets a seed from the feeder, flies into the tree.) You should also include several neat sketches of the bird, trying to really approximate what the bird looks like. Calls (or songs) should bephonetically spelled.(High pitch “swit swit swiiiiit”, repeating “chickadee dee dee dee”, “Feebee, Feebee”). Your notebook should include the amount of time a bird sings, feeds, flits from tree to tree. You are going to look for patterns of behavior so you can determine what the bird is doing. You should also sketch the bird several times, neatly, trying to really approximate what the bird looks like. Be descriptive with the behavior. If the bird flits, than say so. If it dive bombs another bird, say so. If it pecks at the ground, looks around, runs five steps... say so. If all you say is “flew from tree to feeder, then back to tree”, you will be very bored, and so will the rest of us when we go to interpret your notes.  You may take pictures of the birds, and record sounds. You still need to sketch the birds. Any sketches, digital images and sound recordings can be added to your page on this wiki. Your laptop will record sounds. But dragging it deep into the woods to record a bird is not a good idea. If the bird is right around your house, and you are remaining stationary, then think about recording. Spring (late February/ March) is when birds start mating. Many birds have different calls for different purposes. These should be noted in your notebooks.

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This is an exercise in observation. Science starts by observing, and drawing inferences from observations. I have books on bird identification and behavior to help you. There will be two check in points: Friday February 18, and March 11. By March 11, half of your observations should be completed. ======

We will be using this wiki to keep track of your observations. Each of you has been given a page. You are to use these pages to type your observations. You are still required to have a handwritten notebook, with sketches. These pages will allow me to keep track of your progress. If you have digital images, or sound recordings you have made of your birds, you can upload them here also. Do not cut and paste pictures from the internet onto your page. You can also scan your sketches and add them to your page.

If you are going to comment on someone else's page, I ask that you use the discussion link. Do not type directly onto each others pages. I will be deducting points from your project if you do.  == == Points: Total of 3 hours of observation. Each session is at least 15 minutes long. Verified by an adult. 20 points ==

 There are 5 hand drawn sketches of the bird species. 10 points
==  Entries onto the Wiki include an interpretation of the behavior and a reference where you found the information. 10 points ==