Location: Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba (49.8702° N, 97.2301° W)
Day: 29-04-23
Time: 1230 – 1345
Weather: Spring, Light Rain
I plan on studying the birds in this park, particularly the downy woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens) and hairy woodpeckers (Leuconotopicus villosus). There appeared to be significantly more birds at the sites with more trees, typically oak, more water, and less people. The birds also seemed to appear in pairs. Here are a few processes that could explain these patterns:
- Intraspecific Competition (do woodpeckers have territories?)
- Mating Partners (do males and females partner together?)
- Insect Frequency (are woodpeckers in areas with more insects?)
- Human Frequency (do woodpeckers prefer areas away from humans?)
- Tree Frequency (do woodpeckers prefer areas with more trees?)
- Tree Type (do woodpeckers prefer a certain type of tree?)
- Near Water (do woodpeckers prefer wet areas over dry?)
For this study, I hypothesize that oak trees provide more nutrients for woodpeckers than other trees. Based on this hypothesis, I predict that we will find a positive correlation between woodpecker frequency and the amount of oak trees in an area. For this study, the response variable would be the number of woodpeckers (continuous) and the explanatory variable would be the amount of oak trees (continuous).
