I CAN'T FIND ANY PIGEONS!

This has been one of the most common problems for PigeonWatchers. It always seems that pigeons are everywhere, until you're ready to PigeonWatch. Keep your chin up and think about how pigeon behaviors influence where they hang out.

• One thing to remember is that pigeons have schedules which usually follow the daily schedules of the humans around them. In a downtown park, pigeons may arrive in large flocks during the work week but never show their faces on the weekends. Since their food is usually supplied by the people who work in the downtown area, they must look for other places to eat on the weekends.
• Usually, pigeons stay in a small area so when you don't see pigeons where you've seen them before, search nearby¿they may be just around the corner.
• Also, remember that pigeons have very good hearing and vision. Sometimes all it takes is for you to start throwing out some pigeon food or (for really hungry pigeons) crinkling the food wrappers.
• If all else fails, you may need to create a PigeonWatch Site.
   

TOO MANY PIGEONS / TOO HARD TO COUNT!

It is hard enough to count a large number of pigeons if they're standing still, but what happens when they keep moving around? Or what if there are hundreds of pigeons? Here are some solutions.

• Use your pigeon food to your advantage: make a "line" with the food so that the pigeons line up¿this may help. Another solution might be to make a donut shape with the pigeon food. Make the circle large enough for you to stand in and then move about 5 - 10 ft. away. Any method of spreading out the food will help keep the pigeons from piling up on one another and, thus, make your job of counting easier.
• When there are too many pigeons to count, make an estimate. To do this, divide up the flock into parts that are all the same size. Choose one part of the flock and count only those pigeons. Then, to estimate the size of the whole flock, multiply your count by the total number of parts of the flock. For example, let's say that you can easily divide the flock into 7 nearly equal parts. If your one part has 30 pigeons then you multiply 30 x 7 = 210. That is a good estimate of the total size of the flock.
   
• For large flocks, you can do the color count using the same method: count the number of each color morph and then multiply by the number of parts.
• If you want to check your estimate, move to a location near another part of the flock repeat your partial count. Check to see if you get similar estimates. BUT, please send only one data form for that flock on that day. Don't forget that estimates are ok!!
• Often your Total Count will be different from the sum of your Color Counts. Don't worry! The exact number of pigeons is difficult to determine, and often pigeons are coming and going so the Total Count will change. If you think the difference between your Total Count and your Color Counts is too large then try your count again. Scientists often have to make decisions like this and start over.

If you have a group of PigeonWatchers, click here for other solutions for counting large numbers of pigeons.

HOW DO I USE THE TALLY SHEETS?

You received one Tally Sheet in your PigeonWatch kit. Don't write on the original but rather copy it on a copy machine or use it as a model to create your own hand-drawn tally sheet. You can print one by clicking here.
HINT: Write your ID number on the original so that when you make copies it will appear on each copy

The Tally Sheet is for you to use when you are PigeonWatching. Don't worry if you make a mistake, no one will ever see it. You can mess it up as much as you want! Use any blank spaces to write notes about the pigeons or the neighborhood or anything else you find interesting.

MY DATA AREN'T GOOD ENOUGH.

Sometimes it may seem as if the data you collect aren't important enough for a research project. Perhaps, you think you didn't have a large enough flock or you had to estimate your Color Count. BUT,

ALL of the data you send are very important to the project!

If all of your pigeons are the same color, or if they didn't court, or if there were only two pigeons in your flock we need to know that information, too! As long as you carefully fill in the Data Forms and send in the data, we can use it!