Bird Activities | Central Arizona–Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research

Scientific bird studies

What birds are flying around your neighborhood?

The Sonoran Desert has one of the most diverse native plant and animal species of any desert in the world. Many birds are uniquely adapted to living here and they are part of food webs that include animals and plants which also are adapted to desert living.

Phoenix is an ever-expanding urban area located in the Sonoran Desert. CAP LTER scientists are studying the impact of this urbanization on bird communities.

Questions CAP LTER scientists are asking about our urban birds

Which birds are living in the Phoenix metropolitan area?
Which landscape designs attract which types of birds?
Are there different kinds of birds in different urban landscapes (residential, commercial, parks)?

To answer these questions ecologists are conducting surveys of bird populations throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area. Your school can be part of this process by conducting your own bird surveys within your schoolyard and sending that information to CAP LTER scientists at ASU.

Why study birds?

What birds are flying around your schoolyard?

Birds play important roles in many ecosystems.
Birds are relatively easy to identify.
The disappearance and/or appearance of certain species may reflect major habitat changes.
Some birds are considered pests, others beneficial and each may be attracted to different habitats.

What birds should we study?

Bird researchers have found over 50 bird species in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The most numerous of these bird species are the: House Finch, Starling, House Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Inca Dove, Pigeon (Rock Pigeon) and Great-tailed Grackle.

After you become familiar with these seven bird species and any other birds that are common in your area, you can begin making scientific observations.

What do they tell us about our urban ecosystem?

Data from the bird surveys, as well as experiments you design, will help CAP LTER scientists identify which urban areas attracts what types of birds. This information may help people living in Phoenix design landscapes that attract a wider variety of native bird species. CAP LTER scientists will be able to analyze how city zoning ordinances and regulations might influence bird abundance and diversity. CAP LTER scientists have found some interesting patterns in the bird survey data including that different neighborhoods attract different kinds of birds. They are still investigating possible causes for these differences.

What materials will you need?

Meter sticks
String
Location markers
Timer
Binoculars (useful, but not necessary)
Data sheets
Pencil

Bird population survey lesson: Where are the birds?

This complete classroom activity can help you utilize our bird survey protocol to study abundance and distribution in various habitats of your schoolyard or backyard. Follow this link to our Lesson Plans webpage, or directly access the pdf.

Bird protocols

How to survey schoolyard birds

Ecologists use point counts as one method for surveying birds. In a Point Count, one person counts all the birds located within a 20-meter radius circle for 10 minutes. Follow these steps before you actually do a Point Count survey:

Decide on a location or several locations in your schoolyard to conduct the survey. Assign a number to each location. Position the sampling points in different areas, such as in a lawn, near trees and bushes, near asphalt, near the edge of the property, etc.
Mark out a circle with a 20-meter radius at each of the points you intend to survey. Make sure there are no large obstructions within the circle. For example, if a block wall were near the center of the circle you might not be able to see over it to count birds on the other side. You could position the circle so the block wall was near the perimeter of the circle. If you just don’t have enough space for a 20-meter radius circle, then you need to note the size of the study area on the data sheet.
Complete a habitat description for each of your point count locations. Record your findings on the habitat description data sheet. You will need to do this before entering data into the CAP LTER database. YOU ONLY NEED TO DO THIS ONCE FOR EACH POINT COUNT SITE.
Become familiar with the most common bird species (see the identification key).
Decide on a time of day to do the survey and always do it at the same time of day. The best time of day is in the early morning (before 9:30 am), but if several classes are doing it throughout the day they can see how time of day affects the census.
Census the point twice per week for at least 4 consecutive weeks.
Have only 1 person count the birds in a point count (other students can help locate birds). This person will count all the birds within the survey area for 10 minutes. Other students can also help by keeping time and recording the counts on the data sheet.
Use the data sheet to record the number of individuals from each species that you have seen. Count each bird only once.

Bird identification key

House Finch

A small finch (13 cm), male has a red breast during the breeding season, females and males have a streaked breast (one difference between house finches and house sparrows: only finches have a streaked breast). Food: seeds

House Sparrow

A small bird (15cm), male has a black throat and white cheeks, females and young have a dingy breast, rusty wings and dull eyestripe. Food: feeds on anything, especially seeds and handouts.

Great-tailed Grackle

A larger bird (46cm), males have a purple (almost black), glossy color and have a large tail; females are much smaller (35cm) and are brown with a pale breast (also have a long tail). Food: feeds on anything, especially on insects and handouts found on the ground.

Artist rendering of a great-talied grackle

Starling

A chunky blackbird (20 cm) that has a shorter tail and longer bill than other blackbirds of the same size. Feathers become speckled during the fall and winter (one difference between starlings and great-tailed grackles: starlings have much shorter tails). Food: primarily insects found in lawns, some fruits and seeds.

Mourning Dove

A relatively large dove (30 cm), a pointed tail with white along the edges (one difference between mourning doves and white-winged doves: mourning doves do not have large white patches on the wing). Food: seeds, grains, buds and other vegetation on the ground.

Inca Dove

Relatively small dove (19 cm), feathers have a scaly look and the primary feathers are reddish-brown (much smaller than the Mourning Dove). Food: seeds, grains, buds and other vegetation on the ground.

Pigeon (Rock Dove)

A large (30 cm) gray bird with a white patch on the rump. Food: seeds, grains, buds, other vegetation on the ground and handouts.

Artist rendering of a pigeon or rock dove

Other species likely to be sighted

Pictures are included for the most common birds, for other description/pictures of these birds use one of the field guides to western birds (such as Peterson’s Field Guide)

A. Perching birds (that fly from one perch to another)

Birds that catch flying bugs and have relatively wide bills: Cedar Waxwing, Phainopepla, Western Kingbird, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike
Birds that have curved bills: Curve-billed Thrasher, Cactus Wren
Jay-size or larger birds with straight bills: Common Raven, Northern Mockingbird
Blackbird-size birds with straight bills: Brown-headed Cowbird, Bronzed Cowbird, Bullock’s Oriole, American Robin
Warbler-size birds with straight bills: Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Lucy’s Warbler, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Verdin
Cardinal-size with cone-shaped bills: Pyrrhuloxia, Cardinal, Abert’s Towhee
Sparrow-size with cone-shaped bills: American Goldfinch, White-crowned Sparrow, Black-throated Sparrow