March 25th Field Journal
Abaigeal Carroll
Date: March 25, 2023
Start time: 11:30pm
End time: 1:00pm
Location: Park in North Grafton, Massachusetts
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 43 degrees F
Wind: 5 mph, NE
Precipitation: no precip
Habitats: Older Oak and pine forest
This has been the most successful birding excursion yet! I think it was because I was in Massachusetts where it is a little warmer than Vermont. I definitely noticed that it was much easier to identify sounds than it has been previously. The first birds I noticed were a few House Sparrows flying around and landing in a tree. I noticed that I always noticed the American Robin on the ground whereas I always noticed birds like the Tufted Titmouse or the Black-capped Chickadee were on small branches of trees. I have observed Mallards a few times now and I have always observed them where there is one female and one male. They are also usually on the sides of the river instead of the middle unless they are trying to hunt.
It is interesting how you can tell what kind of bird some birds are from so far away but others are so hard to decipher even with binoculars. Birds like the Tufted Titmouse that has a tuft or a crest are specifically easy for me to decipher from far away because the tuft really stands out. Similarly, birds that have bright or iridescent colors like the Mallard or the male Northern Cardinal are quite easy to pick out from far away.
The smaller birds were definitely interacting much more than the bigger birds. They were found much more often in trees together and would communicate by flapping their wings or by calling. I was lucky enough to witness a call and response a few times which I thought was very neat. The Northern Cardinal has bright red plumage but they are born a dull brownish yellow. On the other hand, Blue Jays have soft grey or bluish plumage and a white accent highlighting their wings. Blue jays have distinctive black markings around their eyes white Northern Cardinals do not. Pondering this as a possible evolutionary advantage, this could have made it easier for the opposite general to quickly identify the opposite sex since the colors stand out. Focusing on an individual bird, the Black-capped Chickadee was just resting in a tree which makes sense because we are coming out of the winter season and entering the spring season where there should be more plentiful food available and the Black-capped Chickadee needs to spend less time foraging.
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