suggested research questions

Are we seeing more, less, or the same number of Blue Jays at our feeder as students in a different part of our state (or of the country)?
What is the distribution of Dark-eyed Juncos across the United States in January and February?
What bird was most frequently seen at school bird feeders this year?
Are birds more likely to come to feeders when snow is on the ground? Does this vary by species?
Does rain have an effect on the numbers of birds visiting feeders?
In which state did students see the most Northern Cardinals?
Are other students in our state seeing the same species and numbers of birds that we are?
Do House Finches come to feeders more or less frequently when the temperature is below freezing?
Which state (or school) has the highest number of different species of birds visiting their feeders?
This year there seem to be more hawks in our area. How do our count numbers compare with those of other classes in our state? What might account for the different numbers?
We’ve been seeing a lot more American Robins recently. Have students in southern states begun to see fewer robins? Or have they seen more, too?
How does a list of our top-ten feeder birds compare with top-ten lists for other schools?

* Most of these questions could also be researched using the Project FeederWatch database. The main differences between the databases are that there are more Project FeederWatch participants, and most are adults vs. Classroom FeederWatch, whose data is a subset of Project FeederWatch data, collected entirely by students.

Using e-mail contact with other classrooms:

What types of bird feeders and food are other students in our state using?
What research questions are other students asking?
How many Classroom BirdWatch students have put up bird feeders at home?
What do students like most about studying birds?

Using both Classroom FeederWatch database and e-mail

What types of bird food are used in schools with the greatest number of bird species?
What types of feeders are visited most frequently by (any species)?
What accounts for outlying data? For instance, usually one to four Blue Jays were seen at one time at school feeders. But, one classroom reported seeing eight Blue Jays one day. Students can contact that school and ask about that data point. Was something different at the feeder site that day?

Other feeder area questions

Which birds feed in flocks and which species feed alone?
Which species bully the other birds from the feeder (or another food source)?
Which species take seeds away from the feeder to eat, and which ones stay at the feeder to eat?
Math -- Weigh the birdseed in your feeder before and after each FeederWatch Count Day and compute how much seed was eaten. After several timed counts, calculate the average consumption rate of your feeder birds. Predict and then test how often your feeders need to be refilled. What variables—weather, time of day, different seeds—confound these predictions?
Natural history and behavior -- Select one species to observe and study in detail. Research this bird’s natural history and behavior both by watching and by reading.
What time of day does the species visit your feeder? Do individuals visit alone or in flocks? Where does the bird find its food when not at your feeder? Where does it sleep? Where does it live during summer? What kind of nest does it build? Observe its behavior at your feeders. Does the bird flutter or droop its wings, pass food back and forth, make raucous sounds, or chase other birds?
Weather -- Does weather influence how many birds come to your feeders, or how much food they eat? Look separately at the variables of wind, rain, temperature, and barometric pressure. Investigate why one factor might make a difference to the birds and another one might not.

ebird

What birds do we see in our schoolyard? (species and numbers)
Compare that with our own backyard. With a local park/natural area.
Compare number of species and individuals in 2 or more backyards; in two school yards; in 2 parks/natural areas.
Does the number of birds seen (in the same location) vary with the amount of time spent observing for birds ("effort")?
How do species composition and abundance differ for the same location at different times of day? In different months?
Do time of day, an impending snow storm, time of year, temperature, or other environmental factors influence the numbers of birds you see?

Birdhouse Network

How do first egg dates vary between (related/unrelated) species?
How do first egg dates vary across geographic areas (north-south, east-west)?
Is there any correlation between first egg dates and (average) clutch size and/or # days until fledging?
Do some species have multiple broods, and does that vary with geographic location?
Do environmental factors affect nesting success (for example, compare weather/temperatures over 2 or more years and number of broods/eggs/fledglings).

Project PigeonWatch

What is the color composition of our flock?
How does that compare with other flocks in our city? In other cities?
What variation do we see in flock size and/or color composition over time of day? Over time (months)?

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