Week 7 Field Data: Population and Abundance of Birds at York University

Data for this field experiment was collected over 2 days; October 13th, 2015 and October 20th, 2015. On October 13th, the environmental conditions were windy, heavily clouded, and humid, with a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius. On October 20th, the environmental conditions were windy, cloudy, and light precipitation, with a temperature of 17 degrees Celsius. Data was recorded on the Keele Campus of York University in grasslands, woodlots, and urban areas.

The field experiment involved laying 8-10 transects in urban areas and 8-10 transects in natural areas. An urban area was defined as having at least 75% manmade materials (pavement, buildings, etc,) and a natural area was defined as having at least 75% vegetation on the earth. Once these 120 metre transects were placed, birds within the length of the transect were recorded. The vicinity of the birds in relation to the transect was 20-30 metres on each side and 15 metres vertically. Birds who entered the vicinity more than once were only recorded once. This method was repeated for each transect.