ABI 150 : Section A - Finalized Data Sheets and Methodology!!

Date: May 11th, 2026

During our class period, we focused on refining our data tables and turning Thursday’s field work into a sustainable method that we can consistently and accurately repeat for the rest of the quarter.

10:00 - 10:35 AM Full Group Method Debrief

During this time, Carissa led our discussion on what did and didn’t work well during our research on Thursday.

People found that it was beneficial to continue to have the morning crew, as stilts appeared to stay in one place for longer periods, allowing us to have more complete observations of their behaviors. 

On the other hand, it was difficult to pinpoint neighboring bird species when they weren’t visible, and it was hard to distinguish between multiple simultaneous behaviors. It was also difficult for the observer to constantly monitor where the bird was at all times as they had the tendency to fly or tuck behind vegetation. Furthermore, we found that it was difficult to collect our data sheets together at the end of the day, since there was the rotation of group members throughout the session. There were also concerns for individuals who were unable or had difficulty with certain tasks, particularly the range finder and binoculars for observations. 

We worked through these issues by deciding that if there is no distinguishable neighboring species that we should not guess if they are there, and rather mark no neighboring species. We also determined that it was ok to point at nearby vegetation, as it did not have a significant impact on the calculated distance. Notetakers can assist the observers in monitoring where the stilt broadly is so that we don’t miss out on necessary observation time. For the groups, we determined that it would be helpful to keep our groups consistent throughout the day, with the possibility of rotating the visual roles in order to reduce bias/error in a single group. On Thursday, groups can divide into certain roles based on their comfort level and ability to perform certain roles effectively.

(Cool photo of stilts out in the vegetation courtesy of Olivia)

10:35 - 10:55 AM Excel Sheet Finalization & Data Standardization

The group reviewed the proposed final data sheets that we will be using to enter data for the rest of the quarter, the final data sheet we voted to use was Draft 1!

Bird ID will be done by entering the time of day, first letter of each person’s name in alphabetical order, and the day of the month without spaces

Ex: 10:45AM, Harvey, Marshall, Riley, Sam, May 11th -> 1045HMRS11

We also decided to join the chasing behavior with the territoriality behavior for the sake of consistency. The class had also determined that the notes section was unnecessary, as it would not be needed for data analysis and created confounding variables.

10:55 - 11:25 AM Data Entry and Troubleshooting

We spent 30 minutes working together to test and resolve any issues we might come across when entering our data. We added more bird species that we had documented in close proximity to the Black-necked stilts and added an unidentified bird option for when we were unable to distinguish the species. We had also added a column for when a bird flies off during observations so that we can distinguish the incomplete data. We had some issues with entering the code to calculate the distance of the stilts, but we seem to have fixed it. We had decided to hold off on further tinkering until we could enter data and see the real issue for the sake of saving time to discuss other pressing issues during the class.

11:25 - 11:50 AM Future Analysis Brainstorming

An individual from each group, 2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, had volunteered to enter data from Thursday’s research. During class on Thursday, when groups are formed we will have 1 volunteer designated from each group to enter all of the data collected by their group. We discussed having a separate folder or having a way to stamp data that has already been entered into the digital data tables. We also discussed having people who are not entering data to go back through the sheets to check and assure that there are no duplicates or other errors that could have slipped through.

(A spectacular photo courtesy of Olivia, similar to the aggression behaviors we saw from the Black-necked Stilts on Thursday towards Great Egrets)

Special thank you to our MC Carissa for getting us through our tough questions and keeping the class flowing through all the pressing topics of the day so we can have a solid plan for Thursday!

For Next Class

Before Thursday's Session:

• Download a Document Scanning App

• Have all of last Thursday’s Data uploaded onto the data templates

• Start researching Data tables/graphs that can be used to visualize the data we are collecting for our analysis at the end of the quarter

Tentative Agenda

Morning Crew 

6:30 - 7:00 AM - Head to Yolo Wetlands

7:00 - 10:00 AM - Split into 2 groups (keep in mind individual comfort and ability to perform certain tasks)

10:00 - 10:30 AM - Rest Break/Lunch

10:30 - 11:00 AM - Meet with Afternoon Crew for updates

11:00 - 12:00 PM - Continue to collect Data

12:00 - 12:30 PM - Head back to Davis and Organize/Scan Data

Afternoon Crew

10:00 - 10:30 AM - Head to Yolo Wetlands

10:30 - 11:00 AM - Meet with Morning Crew for updates

11:00 - 12:30 PM - Split into 2 groups (keep in mind individual comfort and ability to perform certain tasks)

12:30 - 1:00PM - Lunch Break

1:00 - 3:30PM - Continue to Collect Data

3:30 - 4:00PM - Head back to Davis and Organize/Scan Data

That’s all for now team! Be sure to pack plenty of water and sunscreen for Thursday as it's looking to reach the 90s with plenty of sunshine :)