PURPOSE
The purpose of this experiment was to determine how birdfeeder color affected the amount of seed eaten by birds.
I became interested in this idea because every winter when it got cold I put birdseed out for the birds and I wanted to find out how to make more birds come to my feeders. I thought the color of the feeder might matter.
The information gained from this experiment could affect anyone who wanted birds in their yard, or wanted to feed birds in the winter. People who work for the Department of Fish and Wildlife might also be interested.
My hypothesis was that the green feeder would attract the most birds.
I based my hypothesis on the conclusion of another student scientist’s experiment from 1998, “To What Color Bird Feeders are Birds Most Attracted?” Carrie Shramm, the experimenter, concluded that the green feeder did attract the most birds.
The constants in this study
were:
• Type of feeders used
• Space between feeders
• General location of feeders
• Scale used to weigh the feeders
• Kind of birdseed
• Amount of birdseed in each feeder
• Number of feeders used
• How long the feeders are available to the birds
The manipulated variable was the color of the feeders.
The responding variable was the mass of the birdseed eaten.
To measure the responding variable, the mass of birdseed in each feeder was determined every two days for three weeks using a triple beam balance scale when full and when partially emptied by birds.
QUANTITY
|
ITEM DESCRIPTION
|
5
|
Birdfeeders
|
4
|
Cans of spray paint(red,
green, silver, blue)
|
1
|
Triple beam balance scale
|
5
|
Bag of birdseed
|
1
|
Roll of masking tape
|
4
|
Hooks to hang the feeders
|
PROCEDURES
1) Paint
Feeders
a) Using cans of spray
paint, paint each feeder a different color
• One
feeder painted red
• One feeder painted green
• One feeder painted blue
• One feeder painted silver
• One feeder unpainted
b) Be
sure to get NO paint near the seed slots in the feeders, where the birds
actually eat
c) Feeders do NOT have seed slots that the birds could peck, accidentally eating paint
d) Drill in screws to hang feeders 0.61 meters apart
2) Fill seed to very top of feeder
a)
Use clean, dry, fresh wild bird seed purchased from Petsmart
b) Weigh each feeder in grams using a triple beam balance scale
c) Record full weight data
3) Put feeders out for 2 days
a) Hang
each feeder on hook
• Red
feeder on first hook
• Green feeder on second hook
• Blue feeder on third hook
• Silver feeder on fourth hook
• Clear feeder on fifth hook
b)
Keep each feeder out from about 2:30 p.m. one day to about 2:30 p.m. two
days later
4) Bring feeders inside to weigh after 2 days
a)
Use triple beam balance to weigh each feeder, record the mass
b) Refill feeders, reweigh, and record full feeder weight
5) Replace Feeders outside
a)
Rotate feeders on the hooks, moving each feeder over 1 space to the
right. For example, to replace the feeders for the first time do the
following:
• Clear
feeder on first hook
• Red feeder on second hook
• Green feeder on third hook
• Blue feeder on fourth hook
• Silver feeder on fifth hook
6) Repeat steps 2-5 for 2 weeks
a) After 2 weeks, average
the weights of each color feeder
7) Subtract ending mass from full mass for each trial
8) After 2 weeks, average the weights of each color feeder
The original purpose of
this experiment was to determine how birdfeeder color affected the amount of
seed eaten by birds.
The results of the experiment was the birds ate most out of the red feeder, then the red feeder with an average mass of 517.6 grams, then the green feeder with 516.5 grams, then the blue feeder with 502.7 grams , then the silver feeder with 495.1 grams, and they ate the least out of the clear feeder with 474 grams.
CONCLUSION
My original hypothesis was
that the green feeder would attract the most birds.
The results indicate that this hypothesis should be rejected, because the birds ate slightly more out of the red feeder than the green feeder.
After thinking about the results of this experiment, I wonder if the location of the feeders matters.
If I were to conduct this project again I would make sure the birds already knew where the feeders were so they would start coming right away. I would also use better outdoor spray paint on the feeders. My feeders may not have been the best kind to use. I’d try to find better ones.
Researched by ------ Whitney B
