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I plan to study Calliope hummingbird distribution at three banding sites (even after reading the Gotelli and Ellison paper!).

All three banding sites that I have chosen have more Rufous than Calliope captures, but the percentage of Calliope captures is distinct at each site. The Cinnabar site had the fewest numbers of hummingbirds overall, almost all of which are Rufous. The Cassiar Ranch site has the highest percentage of Calliope captures. The Private Residence site has the highest numbers of hummingbirds overall, with the Calliope percentage falling somewhere between the two other sites.

Feeding and banding protocols are identical for all sites. All three sites are within 52km of each other, at similar elevations and with abundant water sources. The most obvious differences in my site observations are forest age and density.

My hypothesis is that as surrounding forest age and density decrease, the percentage of Calliope hummingbird captures will increase. The response variable for this project is the percentage of Calliope captures (categorical). Potential explanatory variables for this project are forest age and density (continuous).

Hou, L. & Welch, K.C., Jr (2016). Premigratory ruby-throated hummingbirds, Archilochus colubris, exhibit multiple strategies for fuelling migration. Animal Behaviour, 121, 87-99.

This paper is co-authored by two University of Toronto field experts, includes both in-text citations and a bibliography, was submitted to a journal that uses of a minimum of two independent expert reviewers through a double-blind system, and includes sections on methods and results. This article qualifies as academic, peer-reviewed research material.

I have selected three sites in the Fort St. James, BC area for observation. I’ve been a volunteer bander with Rocky Point Bird Observatory’s Hummingbird Project of BC for six years. Currently, I monitor three sites and have observed differences in both hummingbird species’ composition and abundance between sites. All three sites are in the dry sub-boreal spruce biogeoclimatic zone of the Nechako Plateau, which is classified as having a warm, humid continental climate. Summers are short and hot, with highs exceeding 30° C. Winters are long and cold, with lows occasional reaching below -40° C.

Site 1 is Cinnabar Research Station. Cinnabar Research Station is located on the south side of Tezzeron Lake, within the boundaries of the John Prince Research Forest. The banding site is on a north-facing slope, halfway between the forest edge and the lake shore.  The forest is a mature mix of Douglas and subalpine fir, spruce, pine, trembling aspen, black cottonwood and paper birch. The understory is composed primarily of willows, rose, soopallie, cranberry, thimbleberry, red osier dogwood, black twinberry, devil’s club, huckleberry, and fireweed.

Site 2 is Cassiar Ranch. The Cassiar Ranch site is located on 160 acres of mixed pasture and aspen, pine dominated forest, sitting slightly higher than the surrounding landscape. Two seasonal streams traverse the property and there is also a man-made pond within a 10 acre fenced livestock area. One unique habitat feature of this site is a naturally occurring mineral lick, which falls outside the fenced livestock area and is heavily frequented by wildlife. The day I visited, I observed bear, moose, elk, deer, wolf, coyote, small mammal and bird tracks.

Site 3 is a Private Residence. The Private Residence is located in a subdivision on the south shore of Stuart Lake. The subdivision is a collection of around twenty lots, varying in size from 3-8 acres. The residence where I band is a 5-acre, cleared site. It is bordered on the north side by a two-lane dirt road, on the west and east sides by a sparse barrier of pine and aspen; is open to the southern lot.

1. What does past years’ data show re: hummingbird species composition and abundance at these sites; are they different?
2. What is the elevation at each site, how might that influence species composition?
3. Is tree density impacting species abundance?

Throughout this process I struggled to come up with a concept that I could test in the green space by my house. While I was able to eventually turn my observation into an experiment, I began to appreciate the lengths ecologist go to in attempt to find information that will better our world. What I really did struggle with on this project is finding research to help me with my study. As I was reading more of the research articles I also struggled with how basic my study is in comparison to the study’s we have been reading. I felt more pressure and stress to try to make it more then what it was. I spent so much time trying to figure out so many factors to incorporate into my study but then realized they had nothing to do with it. I enjoyed finding out more about the biodiversity of the Potentilla fruticosa, and look forward to the next project.

The basis of my research is focused around the Potentilla fruticosa plant and what really impacts the amount of blooms they produce. Throughout my research I have found a few studies that show how the Potentilla fruticosa add to biodiversity, and help prevent erosion in landscaping. On study looked at the shrubs as carbon sinks which could possibly be beneficial to urban settings. I also discovered the potentilla fruticosa plays a major role in attracting pollinators and providing habitat to a variety of different species.

Key words that would describe my study would be: biodiverse shrub, optimal growth setting, and

While my last post made reference to my dislike of spiders, I have to say that my most recent observations and data collection at my site were taken over by wasps. That being said I was able to get 16 samples in total between 4 shrubs and while I did not have much difficulty in implementing my design, I did realize that in some of the shrubs some parts just met the minimum for the sampling height. While the shrubs overall are of adequate size for my study (which is 4 feet) most were well over 4 feet, some parts were barely tall enough. While this would not have any significant impact on my field study, I realized that depending on the nature and source of study this should be a consideration in the future development of my field studies.