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Sunday, May 29, 2005
Plan II
Squirrel Feeder Locations:
Gardens where someone feeds: Red squirrels; grey squirrels (if I can find anyone that really does feed grey squirrels); both squirrels
Methods:
- Replace the squirrel’s normal feeder with a standard hopper+sticky tape and keep it topped up with hazelnuts
- Record each day the no. hairs of each species that are stuck to tape
- Let X days pass for habituation
- Add a Selective Feeder around the hopper
- Record each day: weight of nuts taken; continue hair counts and identification.
- Record for X minutes at X o’clock each day how many squirrels successfully feed
Now to find some dedicated people that feed the local squirrels in their garden. Maybe they would even like to collect, each day, the little hairs squirrels leave stuck stuck to sticky tape...
Oh yeah, and read some journals to fill in the X's
Comments:
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Surely you can't determine how many reds and grays have fed, since each will leave many hairs? Wouldn't you simply get a percentage of reds v grays that ate the nuts?
Do reds and grays shed the same number of hairs onto the sticky tape per gram of nuts they eat?
Do reds and grays shed the same number of hairs onto the sticky tape per gram of nuts they eat?
# posted by 
: 12:55 am
: 12:55 am
Hmm, yes this is a very good point. The idea is that counting the squirrels will help in determining how many have fed, by counting at different times of day and extrapolating. Hairs and nut disappearance will only give relative data as you say, but it will be quite accurate relative data! The theory is that greys won't be able to get into the feeder; thus the amount of nuts taken only works if only red squirrel hairs are found. If any grey ones are there too then the nut count for that day won't really be so useful.
Small plan revision required: I also need to be counting the squirrels for the few days that they're being habituated to the hopper before the selective feeder's added.
Cheers Andy!
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Small plan revision required: I also need to be counting the squirrels for the few days that they're being habituated to the hopper before the selective feeder's added.
Cheers Andy!
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