Coyotes, Prey, and Birdseed Data

Data collected and used for analysis in a project exploring the attraction of coyotes and mouse-sized rodents to birdseed spilled beneath suspended bird feeders in residential yards near greenspaces in Edmonton, AB, from October through December 2023.We monitored coyote activity at bird feeders using infrared trail cameras set to take bursts of three photos with no delay and defined independent detections as occurring at least 30 min apart. We monitored mouse-sized rodent activity at bird feeders using combination track and hair tubes. Based on the identification of tracks and/or hair from these tubes, we recorded whether a mouse-sized rodent was present at each feeder during each site check. We employed a before-after control-impact (BACI) study design to assess whether seed hoops reduced coyote and mouse-sized rodent attraction to bird feeders. Variables in the dataset include:

site_code - code for each unique site (a bird feeder in a unique yard) 

distance_greenspace - the shortest straight-line distance (m) between the bird feeder and nearest greenspace or natural area

food_type - the food type provided in the bird feeder

hiding_cover - approximate area of shelter usable by coyotes in the yard (e.g., space under decks or sheds)

prey_habitat - approximate area of habitat usable by small rodents in the yard (e.g., brush piles, rock walls with gaps)

food_or_pets - count of food items or small pets in each yard (e.g., compost, fruit, cats, small dogs)

novel_objects - count of novel objects that may be attractive to coyotes in each yard (e.g., children's or pet toys, discarded plant pots, socks, gloves, hats)

treatment_cat - whether site received a seed hoop (treatment) or not (control)

treatment_period - whether a data point occurred before or after the installation of seed hoops, regardless of whether the site was in the control or treatment group

camera_effort - number of days the camera was operational in a given site check period

weekly_coyote_at_feeder_events - # of independent coyote detections at the bird feeder during each week

weekly_diseased... - # of independent detections of visibly diseased coyotes at bird feeder during each week

weekly_coyote_tube - # of independent detections of coyotes in which they interacted with the rodent track/hair tube

weekly_coyote_nt - # of independent detections of coyotes in which they did NOT interact with the rodent track/hair tube

weekly_disease_nt - # of independent detections of visibly diseased coyotes in which they did NOT interact with the rodent track/hair tube

rodent - whether a mouse-sized rodent was detected or not during a given site check

site_check - site check number. Site checks occurred approximately every 2 weeks. Researchers collected tracks and hair and maintained tubes and cams during these checks. 

trap_effort - # of days during which the rodent track/hair tube was operational

daylight - whether a coyote detection occurred during daylight (defined as 1 hour after sunrise to 1 hour before sunset), sunset (defined as 1 hour before sunset to 1 hour after sunset), night (defined as 1 hour after sunset to 1 hour before sunrise), or sunrise (defined as 1 hour before sunrise to 1 hour after sunrise)

event_start - time when coyote(s) approached the feeder

event_end - time when coyotes left the feeder