Birds species and frequency of sightings at Keele Campus,York University.

To estimate birds diversity and abundance in different habitat located at York University (4700 Keele Street,Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada) , both frequency and bird species were recorded in the grassland east of Stong Pond (43°46'15.5"N 79°30'26.2"W) and in Saywell woodlot (43.770222-79.508942), on September 30th,2014 from 3:15 pm to 4:25 pm . The weather was cloudy with a temperature of 18 degrees Celsius. The tools used in this distance-based dataset were : a belt transect, a Bushnell Waterproof binoculars 8x42, a birds identification handbook and a watch. In total n= 10 transects ( denoted as “replicates”) were sampled,each of them was 25 meters in lenght ; n=5 of them sampled in the habitat “grassland” and n=5 of them sampled in the habitat “woodlot”. In every habitat, the first transect was placed randomly on the ground and we collected our variables(listed below) walking for 5 minutes along the transect in both directions.After 5 minutes, a new transect was placed 5 metres apart from the last one in a random direction and the sampling was repeated. Species were differentiated observing the morphology through the binoculars and using a birds identification handbook.It was assumed that birds which were more than 500 m away from the transect have not been identified. Distance from the transect to the bird or group of birds was approximated in meters (m) and not directly measured,using the binoculars. Abundance of birds was observed visually and counted looking from the transect location towards the sky, in every direction . Wind speed was determined using Beaufort Scale (0-12). At the moment of sampling,wind speed was under 1 mph (Beaufort Number: 0 ; Scaman's term: Calm ; Effects on land: calm,smoke rises vertically). Birds species observed included the following: Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) , Canadian Goose (Brenta canadensis) , House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) ,American Robin (Tardus migratorius).