Science on the Wing

If you've been around Samuel for more than five minutes, you know he has become crazy about birds. I've decided to run with that interest for science this year.

Almost all field guides show you where a species is likely to occur. How do the writers know that? In recent years, birders have contributed much of this information. By following specific protocols, they can help ornithologists grasp how many individual of a species live in a particular area. Put these observations together, and you get the species' range.

What if that information changes over time? Studies such as the Project Feeder Watch run by the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology allow scientists to monitor the number of birds in their native winter habitat. Increases or decreases in number can signal improvements in habitat, loss of food sources, increases in predation, and many other significant factors in a bird's life cycle or ecosystem.

We will gain much by participating in Project FeederWatch. Samuel has learned a great deal about the sciences through his own reading, projects with other youths, and participation in interactive programs at museums. Project FeederWatch will enable us to do science. We will have to follow specific protocols to create useful data, keep good records, and submit them electronically on a regular basis. We can also develop hypotheses, then watch to see if our data supports them. Is there any correlation between feeding patterns and incoming weather systems? Do we see more aggressive feeding territorial behavior on a rainy day? We could ask a million questions, and we have a whole school year to answer them.


We're also going to learn bird anatomy which can create a good foundation for all vertebrate zoology. And to round out this year's science, Brian wants us to do additional physical science too. I'm thinking about following the boys' interest in space. More on that later.