I am studying bird species in a local marsh and the impact on birds from nearby human environments, therefore for my data collection method I went with point count stations. I counted all the species of birds in one location in the marsh for 10 – 15 minutes in the morning, 5 times over the course of two weeks. The location has moderate human activity nearby. The types of bird species present in my selected location could provide some detail on what species are tolerant of moderate human activity and which ones thrive in that environment.
I had some minor difficulties with pedestrian traffic scaring away some birds from the trail viewpoint that was my point count station, however many would return swiftly. I plan to use the same technique for my study; however, I will look into more locations within the park to see if the species counts vary spatially in relation to human impacted environments nearby. I think this modification will allow me to gather more data and comparing locations will possibly reveal which areas are more ecologically diverse within the park.
Sounds like an interesting topic! I would be curious to know what your hypothesis is for the study. It would be interesting to look into different areas of the park like you said – Are the birds there because of human activities such as feeding seed? Or what seems to have the birds coming to particular parts of the park as opposed to others. good luck with your research 🙂
After reading, I was thinking did you consider other organisms in that area that might also have an impact on birds besides human population? Did you observe from a specific distance and was there several sample stations set up? I can relate to the pedestrian movement as I had difficulties with that as well while making my observations. Otherwise, Great work! looking forward to more of your observations.