Blog Post 6: Data Collection

The hypothesis for my research project is the length of time an American Robin (Turdus migratorius) spends foraging in the meadow will differ from in the dog park. For my field data collection, I used the Pont Count method to monitor the length of time at least one Robin spent foraging in the meadow and the dog park. Ten replicates were carried out over ten days. For each replicate, I visited the meadow and dog park for 30 minutes each while alternating each day which location was visited first, and the field visits were conducted during the hours of 5:00-7:00 PM. The data collection strategy was relatively simple. Sitting quietly at a picnic bench with binoculars and a stopwatch, I recorded the time when at least one Robin present or absent in the meadow or dog park. 

Considering the time of day, I was surprised by the number of Robins actively foraging and how easily they would return to each location once the area was vacant of dogs. It was also interesting to observe the behaviour between the Robins as one Robin appeared to be territorial over one particular tree and would chase any other Robins that would come near. Ultimately, it was interesting to see that the time a Robin spent foraging in the dog park was relatively close to the time spent foraging in the meadow.