Birds, Boats, and Science Fairs
BY Meredith Kusch
Please
cite this Page as:
Kusch, M. 2000. Birds,
Boats, and Science Fairs. Birdscope, Volume 14, Number 1: 14.
Research
about birds is a cornerstone of the Classroom FeederWatch curriculum. Students base their
questions on what they already know about birds and on what they observe and learn as they
participate in the project.
Last year, two sixth-grade Classroom FeederWatchers studied deterrents for keeping
birds away from boats. Sara and Caitlin, students in Mr. Stadille’s class at Carmel
Middle School, Carmel, California, knew that some boat owners use deterrents to discourage
gulls and other birds from scrounging free handouts and letting fly with the remains. Sara
and Caitlin wondered just how effective these deterrents actually are. Their hypothesis
was as follows: “If bird deterrents are related to keeping birds away from boats,
then a boat without a bird deterrent will have more birds than a boat with a
deterrent.”
Sara and Caitlin went to the Monterey Marina at the south edge of Monterey Bay and
counted birds on pleasure boats and fishing boats, both those with and those without bird
deterrents. They observed boats with two types of deterrent: 1) a gull sweep described as
a six-foot “horizontal windmill” that rotates over the boat and is powered by
ambient breezes, and 2) a life-size, realistically colored owl decoy. Most of the birds
they observed were Western Gulls, but they also counted Brown Pelicans, Rock Doves,
cormorants, and Brewer’s Blackbirds. They found no birds on boats equipped with gull
sweeps and few birds on boats sporting owl decoys. Below is a graph of their results. See
Sara’s and Caitlin’s research paper in the October 15 issue of the Classroom
Birdscope webzine at http://birds.cornell.edu/cfw/.
Sara and Caitlin write that their graph "shows that there are
fewer birds on boats with deterrents. The graph illustrates that gull-sweeps work very
well, because there were no birds on boats with gull-sweeps (hence, no third bar). The
graph also shows that the fake owls help but do not work completely." |
Bird watching figured prominently for a Classroom FeederWatcher whose 4-H
project garnered first place in the Bird Project category of the Ohio State Fair in
Columbus. Amanda, a seventh-grader at Northmont Middle School in Clayton, Ohio, observed
birds at Aullwood Nature Preserve in Dayton and at Bruckner Nature Center in Troy. She
cataloged the birds she saw and found nests of 10 different species, including a
Ruby-throated Hummingbird. “My lifetime dream,” says Amanda, “is to go to
Ohio State University, where I would major in zoology and specialize in ornithology. My
4-H project puts me one step closer to my goal. My experience proves that anything can
happen if you set your mind to it!” Good luck, Amanda. Keep watching those birds.
Classroom FeederWatch
A message from the staff
Classroom
FeederWatchers across the country are counting the birds coming to feeders they placed
outside their classrooms. A quick look at the data shows that some classrooms are already
blessed with many birds of several species. House Sparrows, Mourning Doves, House Finches,
and various chickadee species are well represented.
We presented two workshops for teachers this fall. The first took place in Morristown,
New Jersey, for the fourth grade teachers in the Morris School District. Twenty-four
teachers in this district are participating in Classroom FeederWatch thanks to a
technology grant the school district received from the National Science Foundation. Three
teachers, Carole Prendergast, Debbie Dunne, and Beth Papaz from nearby Tisdale Elementary
School in Ramsey, joined forces with CFW staff to present the workshop. These enthusiastic
and dedicated teachers brought along resource materials and examples of their
students’ work that demonstrated how the curriculum can be used to fulfill education
goals in various subjects as well as science.
Dr. Deborah Trumbull, a Cornell Professor of Education, and I presented a workshop at
the National Science Teachers Association area conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in
mid-November. In addition to describing the curriculum, we highlighted the educational
outcomes that Dr. Trumbull has documented in students who participated in Classroom
FeederWatch. Her data show that students have a good understanding of the scientific
project in which they are participating. In addition, students describe themselves as
knowing more about wild birds and natural history at the end of the project; they also
describe themselves as having “done a scientific investigation.” Two examples of
student projects are described in the article above.
Classrooms can sign up to participate. Call (800) 843-BIRD or send e-mail to classroomfw@cornell.edu. A curriculum
description can be found on our web site at http://birds.cornell.edu/cfw/.
Meredith Kusch |
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