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The hypothesis for my research project is the length of time a Robin spends foraging in the meadow will differ from in the dog park. I predicted that the length of time a Robin spends foraging in the meadow location will be greater than in the dog park location due to the greater number of dogs present within the dog park than the meadow. The sampling method I have chosen will be the Point Count method. I visited the Meadow 5 times, approximately the same time between 5:00-7:00 PM and observed the Robins in the meadow for 30 minutes on May 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8, 2021. The sampling strategy was relatively simple. I sat at a picnic bench with my binoculars and timed the presence or absence of Robins foraging. Considering the time of day, I was surprised by the number of Robins actively foraging and how easily they would return from the meadow once a dog had left the area. I also observed some competitive behaviour between Robins, which I also thought was very interesting. Given the simplicity and lack of resources available, I have chosen to continue using the same sampling method.
The excerpt from the field journal can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xbUUajwJ8BOtYKSs8DY5s1f7doOIsc72?usp=sharing. Observations were recorded on the left-hand pages, including weather and activity within the meadow. The right-hand pages document when the foraging time (FT) began, which is defined when at least one Robin was present in the meadow. The foraging time stopped (FTS) when no Robins were present in the meadow. Time was recorded as minutes and seconds. The number of birds and dogs was recorded during one complete cycle of FT to FTS. The FT would begin again when at least one Robin returned to the vacant meadow. Please refer to table one for a list of acronyms.
Table 1. List of Acronyms
|
Acronym |
Meaning |
| FT | Forage Time |
| #B | Number of Birds |
| #D | Number of Dogs |
| FTS |
Forage Time Stopped |
