1. Create a blog post to discuss the collection of the initial data in Module 3.
Did you have any difficulties in implementing your sampling strategy?
The data collection methods were pretty straight forwards to follow, however there are slight implications and annoyances when collecting data.
Those difficulties were minor, but consisted of
1. Dusty Roads effecting counting of birds, and my health
2. Muddy and wet conditions to count and work in
3. Me, being a strange object/ or potential threat in the eyes birds and potentially scaring away the prey
4. Canadian Geese are incredibly territorial
5. An hour only represents a small amount of the birds that fly through, and that could always depend on species niche and migratory patterns.
Was the data that you collected surprising in any way?
I originally added in the blue heron and owl options as those are quite abundant in this location, but those were not present today. I would assume that they would be present at a more evening location, which I should also sample at one point.
What surprised me about the data collected would be the fact there was a high amount of smaller, prey like birds together in the same area (Point 1). What didn’t surprise me is the high amount of bird species present in Point 1 because of its abundance of resources and high-water level.
Mallard ducks were present, in quite an abundant amount. It does make sense as these ducks do mate for life, so they should always be in twos.
Red Wing blackbirds are quite present in Point 1 and Point 2, yet did not show in Points 3,4 and 5. This was surprising because I thought they would have wanted a more secluded area, and not want to be near the road.
Do you plan to continue to collect data using the same technique, or do you need to modify your approach?
I do believe I can modify my approach to make the measurements a little bit more accurate.
For starters, I will be showing up to the site earlier so I can get settled and allow the birds to come back to their natural habitat and not see me as a threat. I will also change the clothes I wear, so I am fitting in with the environment.
I will also change the time of day that the research occurs, to prevent the extra dust from the road. Also, my note taking and spreadsheet could be better.
Hi Emily,
Alyse here. I am also doing bird counts. I chose the Red-winged blackbirds and all the difficulties you experienced were similar to my own. I was wondering how you chose to sample. Did you use a transect line and establish points along it or did you use a variable circular plot method? What bird/s species are you counting for? Were you looking at behaviour or are you monitoring nesting? I personally found that the earlier I performed bird counts the more active the birds appeared to be and the easier they were to count.
Thank you for sharing your design reflections and good luck,
Alyse
very interesting!
I will have to go back and remind myself of methods
seems like lots of opportunities to view birds
For sure letting the area settle after you walk in is important.
Noise and disturbance from something like roads can be included in your notes
tip:
use ‘number’ as opposed to ‘amount’ : number is something that is counted, and amount is weighed