Are 5th Grade Science Projects
For The Birds?

Not all 5th grade science projects are about bird behavior, but this one is. Will bright colors on a feeder scare birds away? Or will they eat the same amount of seed no matter what color the feeder is? The experiments in this project will give you an idea if birds dislike bright colors.

Although the title of this page is 5th grade science projects, its fine for students in other grades as well as the fifth. Check with your teacher and see what she thinks. This is an interesting science fair project idea for any grade level.

Purpose Will different colors of bird feeders affect how much seed the birds eat? (You should do some research on this topic either online or at your library. You need to learn enough about it to guess what will happen when you do the experiment. That guess of course is your hypothesis). Hypothesis Choose one of these two based on your study of the topic: The color of a bird feeder won't affect how much seed the birds eat. The color of a bird feeder will affect how much seed they eat. Materials List A hanging enclosed type bird feeder. Not a platform feeder. Large bag of bird seed. One piece of white construction paper. One piece of bright colored construction paper. Try to find flourescent orange or some other bright color. Pair of scissors. Some small string or twine. Kitchen measuring cup. Procedure This is the experiment you will perform to test the hypothesis. Be sure to write everything down in your journal. Someone else should be able to repeat your steps and get the same results as you. So keep a journal for all the 5th grade science projects you do. If you already have a hanging type bird feeder in the yard you may use it for this experiment. Try to find a quiet open area to hang the feeder if this is your first. A place where the birds will be least disturbed by passing traffic, dogs, etc. is best. Measure the amount of seed you put in the feeder with a measuring cup.Fill it up and write down the amount in your notebook journal. Also write down the time and date you hang the feeder up. Label this page of your journal plain feeder. If this is a new feeder for your yard it may a few days for the birds to find it. Check the feeder once a day and add seed if needed. Write in your journal how much seed you add each time. Keep the feeder up and filled for two weeks.Toward the end of that day take the feeder down and empty the seeds in another container large enough to hold them. With the measuring cup measure how many seeds you have out of the feeder. Write this amount down in your journal as Amount left over along with the date. Add up the total amount of seed you added to the feeder during the two weeks. Subtract the amount left over from this amount. Write the total amount used in your journal. On a new page in your journal title it white feeder. Now cut a piece of the white construction paper wide enough and long anough to go around the feeder. Get and adult to help if you need to. Tie the paper securely around the feeder with a piece of string. Don't block the seed areas where the birds eat or the lid where you fill the feeder. As before fill the feeder with seeds while measuring the amount. Write this amount along with the date in your journal. Put it on the new page you started and labeled white feeder. Hang the feeder for two more weeks and keep it filled. Write down the amounts of seed added each time just as you did before. At the end of the two weeks empty the feeder and write down the amount of seeds left over. Add up the amount of seed you used this two weeks and subtract the left over amount from it. Write this amount in your journal as total amount used along with the date. Start a new page in your journal titled bright colored feeder. Remove the white paper from the feeder and cut a piece of the colored sheet as you did before. Attach it the same way with the string. Fill the feeder with seed and record the amount on the bright colored feeder page of your journal along with the date. Hang the feeder and keep filled writing down the amounts you add in your journal. At the end of two weeks take down the feeder and measure the amount of seed left in it. Write down this amount. Now add up the amounts you added over the two week period and subtract this left over amount from it. Write this amount in your journal as total amount used. Write down the date. Results What did you observe and conclude from the experiment? Do the results support your hypothesis? Did the white paper or colored paper make a difference in how much seed the birds ate? Changes to the Experiment Can you think of any changes you might make to the 5th grade science projects experiment if you did it again? Maybe you have an idea for a different hypothesis. Sometimes with a few changes you can create a new project.