Survey of Birds and the Feeding Observations

1. Survey of Birds and the Feeding Observations By: Rachel Jacobs and Laura Yost

2. Hypothesis/Purpose • Birds have food preferences • Commonalities among people feeding birds • Explain different types of feed and feeders

3. Survey • How often to you feed birds? • How long have you been feeding birds? • What do you feed them (brands/types)? • What kinds of birds do you want to attract? • What types of birds do you see most often?

4. How many different species of birds do you see at the feeder? • Does anything other birds eat the food? • Do you use conventional feeding methods? (feeders/scraps) If both which brings more diversity? • Any unique, funny, interesting stories you want to share when feeding/observing?

5. Results • 11 fed everyday, 9 refilled when empty, the remaining fed either weekly, seasonally monthly or whenever they had scraps. • 18 have been feeding for greater than 10years, only a few starting recently

6. Results • Only brand mentioned was Agway, others were generic brands, a variety of mixed seeds, bread or scraps • Specific types used: suet cake, sugar/water mixture • Most had no preference as to what birds they were trying to attract

7. Results • Types of birds seen were pigeons, house finches, blackbirds, and chickadees • 4 most popular seen were robins, cardinals, blue jays, and sparrows • Most reported (17) seeing > 6 species at feeders, several < 6 and a few never counted or couldn’t identify

8. Results • 28 reported having squirrels and/or chipmunks eating the feed, some said raccoons, dogs and cats • Most used feeders and scraps, all of which said that feeders brought more diversity • Stories: mating, fighting, broken antique sink as a feeder and watching other animals eating the food

9. Feeding Tips • New types of food • Birds wary • Familiar place • Seed in bulk • Cool, dry • Mold • No chocolate • Theobromine

10. Types of Feed • Seeds • Many varieties and mixtures • Black oil Sunflower seed • Most common • A lot of fat • Small birds • Niger Seed • Grains of rice • Goldfinches

11. Types of Feed • Suet • Insect eating birds • Beef kidney fat • Processed cake • Seeds and berries • Nuthatches and Woodpeckers

12. Types of Feed • Nectar • Hummingbirds and Orioles • Sugar water • Food coloring • Toxic • Red Portals • Red Ribbon • Keep clean • Bacteria • Mold

13. Types of Feed • Grit • Many types of birds • Gizzard • Sand • Pebbles • Broken Eggshells • Dry asphalt or Wood ashes • Minerals

14. Types of Feed • Water • Drinking • Bathing • Dripping • Very appealing • Location • Close to ground

15. Feeders • Three main types • Tray (platform) feeders • Hopper feeders • Tube feeders • Three specialty types • Suet feeders • Hummingbird feeders • Peanut feeders

16. Feeders • Tray Feeder • Raised surface • Spread out food • Disadvantage • No protection • Without roof = wet food • Species • Cardinal • Juncos • Doves • Sparrows

17. Feeders • Hopper Feeder • Tray feeder with roof and walls • Seeds spill out of bottom • Hold food • Several Days • Continuous supply • Disadvantage • Becomes wet and moldy • Species • Large variety • Chickadees up to Blue Jays

18. Feeders • Hollow Cylinders • Many feeding ports • Perches underneath • Keep away mammals • Not accessible to large birds • Perch too small • Speices • Finches • If large enough perch – grackles and jays

19. Feeders • Suet Feeders • Wire mesh cage or bag • Only open at bottom • Species • Nuthatches • Woodpeckers • Chickadees • Cling to cage or bag upside down

20. Feeders • Hummingbird Feeder • Bottle or tube • Small holes • Hold liquid • Narrow openings • Species • Hummingbirds

21. Feeders • Peanut Feeder • Wire mesh cage • Cylidrical • Species • Jays • Nuthatches • Woodpeckers

22. Feeders • Placement of Feeder • Natural area • Trees or Shrubs • Sit and wait • Not too close • Other mammals • Scare birds away • Quiet and visible area

23. Feeders • Unwanted Visitors • Squirrels • Most common • Distract with other food • Attach cone or tent to block • Damage feeder • Raccoons, Deer, Moose • Build fence • Remove feeder • Few days

24. Feeders • Must be kept clean • Mold and Bird droppings • Birds become ill • Clean when refilling • Harmful substances • Mild bleach solution • Air dry

25. Fun Feeding • Popped corn • Raisins • Fruit • Fruit seeds • Pine cones • Peanut hearts

26. Literature • What affects birds eating habits?? • G.M. Tucker: agriculture, increased manure use, aerated soil, therefore increasing earthworms and ultimately increasing bird densities. • Choose particular area to forage, posibly for camouflage and decreased competition, i.e blackbirds (Turdus merula) in small fields with tall hedgerow

27. Literature • Feinsinger & Colwell; Wolf and Chown: nectar feeding birds form assemblages based in availability of resources and take roles in foraging • Feeding is very important to hummingbirds because of the high metabolic requirements • More diversity of food resources has increased bird diversity

28. Literature • T. E. Martin: reproductive effects having specific costs to parents and the young • Morton: Food intake depends not only on availability and diversity of birds in the area but on temperature and the time of day

29. Literature • Stiles: frugivores prevalent in Eastern deciduous forests, not necessarily strictly frugivores, some feed insects to young • Nutrients in fruits are carbs, proteins and lipids • Willson and Comet: Color preferences in berries exhibited in crows. Preferred fruits with high glucose and lipid concentrations, more pronounced in adults. • Order of preference R>B>Y>G

30. Literature • Willson also looked at robins and found findings consistent with the previous study on crows. • Main finding was that frugivores may have a search image for fruits

31. References • Project Feeder Watch “About Birds and Bird Feeding” <http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/abtbirds_index.html> 29 April 2006. • “Feeding Wild Birds” <http://www.wildbirds.com/Feeding.htm> 29 April 2006. • Hinterland Who’s Who. “Bird Feeding.” <http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=224> 29 April 2006. • Tucker G. M. (1992). Effects of agricultural practices on field use by invertebrate-feeding birds in winter. Journal of Applied Ecology. 29, 779-790.

32. References • Feinsinger P. & R. K. Colwell. (1978). Community organization among neotropical nectar-feeding birds. American Zoologist. 18, 779-795. • Wolf L. L., F.R. Hainsworth, & F. B. Gill. (1975). Foraging efficiencies and time budgets in nectar-feeding birds. Ecology. 56, 117-128. • Chown S. L., N. J. M. Gremmen & K. J. Gaston. (1998). Ecological biogeography of couthern ocean islands: species area relationships, human impacts, and conservation. The American Naturalist. 152, 562-575. • Martin T. E. (1987). Food as a limit on breeding birds: a life history perspective. Annual Review of Ecological Systems. 18, 453-487.

33. References • Stiles E. W. (1980). Patterns of fruit presentation and seed dispersal in bird-desseminated woody plants in the estern deciduous forest. The American Naturalist. 116, 670-688. • Morton M. L. (1967). Diurnal feeding patterns in white0crowned sparrows, zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii. The condor. 69, 491-512. • Levey D. J, T. C. Moermond, & J. S. Denslow. (1984). Fruit choices in neotropical birds: the effect of distance between fruits on preference patterns. Ecology, 65. 844-850. • Willson M. F. & T. A. Comet.(1993).Food choices by northwestern crows: experiments with captive, free-ranging and hand-raised birds. The Condor. 95, 596-615. • Willson M. F. (1994). Fruit choices by captive American robins. The condor. 96, 494-502.