Birds & the Scientific Method

Sixth grade bird research projects are underway! After learning how to identify the local avifauna that frequent bird feeders in the area, students designed original controlled experiments to investigate a question they had about bird feeding behavior. For the past few weeks, students have been monitoring feeders, either at home or at school, collecting data in an effort to gain insight with regard to their experimental questions. This year’s observations have included a bobcat staking out a feeder and a sharp-shinned hawk chasing a junco into a window! Soon, students will be analyzing their results, writing them up, and submitting them for possible publication to a student journal created by Cornell Lab of Ornithology.