Students from the Normandy High School BIO Club visited LREC on May 17 to investigate bird life, including Eurasian tree sparrows. Students visited 2 stations, working in small groups to answer the questions What is the state of the nest in a nest box? and What species of birds visit the feeding station?
Photo by PSweeney
Students were able to plug into research that our volunteer Colleen Crank initiated in March. Colleen is checking next boxes to learn about how many eggs are in a clutch, nest predation, and competition for nest sites.
Each student got to look into a nest box.

Photo by JKossuth
Colleen called off the data that she would normally record, and each student recorded the data on his or her own data sheet. Here is a sample of a student’s data sheet:


Photo by JKossuth

Photo by PSweeney
Colleen was kind enough to hold out an egg for everyone to see.

Photo by PSweeney
In planning for the visit, we learned about an opportunity to study nest parasites, so we collected 2 nests that will be studied at the University of Missouri-St. Louis with Dr. Patricia Parker.

Photo by JKossuth
In addition to the nest box study, students also watched birds at our feeders and practiced identifying different kinds of birds. The students realized the importance of clearly defining a research question and standarizing the methods.
The visit was great! The students were thouroughly engaged and met their teachers’ expectations that they would improve their observation skills and practice recording data. They were so excited that they asked Ms. Farrar if they could start a Bird Club. Hopefully they’ll come to LREC in the fall.
Throughout their visit, students generated wonderful questions. Here is the list of their questions:
Regarding bird identification
What’s the difference between a house sparrow and a Eurasian Tree Sparrow (ETS)?
How big are ETS’s?
Is that a Northern cardinal?
What’s the difference between a male and female cardinal?
What type of woodpecker is Woody the Woodpecker?
What is a robin?
Regarding the procedure for checking nest boxes
Does Colleen fill out a data sheet each time she checks the nest? Is this to see if there are changes?
Can we see another nest?
Can nests be removed without damage?
Why is there condensation inside the freezer bag with the nest we collected?
Regarding nesting
How do birds build nests?
What do they make their nests out of?
Where do birds build nests?
Do sparrows use their own feathers as nesting material?
Do ETS’s repair their nests?
Do all the birds fit in one nest?
Why would parents abandon nests with chicks?
How long does it take to build another nest?
How long does it take to raise their young?
Why are insects in the nests?
Do the birds leave nests at night?
Does the mother teach the young to fly?
Should we help babies that have fallen out of nests? Will the mother accept it?
Regarding removing the nest that has a really bad smell
Why do you want to remove the nest that stinks?
Where did the birds go?
Will the birds build another nest?
What do they do upon returning to find their nest is gone?
Regarding the feeder station
Why are they ignoring those feeders?
Do squirrels eat the same thing as birds?
How do we avoid counting the same bird twice in a feeder species count?
Why are those black birds fighting the others away?
Regarding turkeys
What do turkeys eat?
Do the turkeys cross the road?
Why are they present in the tall grass area?
How do they move?
Can we pick up turkeys?
Is there only one female here?
Will turkeys eat other birds?
Regarding birds
Why are robin eggs blue?
Are there any birds that can’t fly?
Can birds get rabies?
Why can’t we hatch chicken eggs from the fridge?
How can you tell the age of young?
Why are some male cardinals brighter than others?
Regarding squirrels
Will squirrels eat other birds?
How do you tell the difference between gray squirrels and other squirrels?
Regarding other animals
Are there mountain lions in Missouri?
Are there bears in Missouri?
Are there snakes here in the prairie?
Other questions
What is garlic mustard and why is it a problem?