Field Journal 3: Ecological Physiology

3 March 2023
Start: 4:00pm
End: 5:30pm
Location: Isham St and Centennial Woods, Burlington, VT
Weather: Overcast, 32 Degrees Fahrenheit, low winds. Urban and mixed hardwoods and softwood forest.

An attempt at a dusk bird walk. Figured it would be a good to see the birds getting ready to end their day. As I left my apartment, I was greeted with a cacophony from above. A tree full of American Robins and European Sparrows. Both species were singing, fluttering about from limb to limb, and finding a drink in the storm drains. From below, it was difficult to tell apart one species from another just by looking at them, unless they were in flight.

This sort of flocking behavior is common in the winter. As the weather gets cold, birds begin to flock together at night to stay warm. The colder the temperature, the larger the flock tends to be. I haven't heard of two species forming a flock together, but when something came about and startled a few of the birds, they all took off in unison, as if they were going to stick out the night together.

I later made my way to Centennial woods, hoping to catch some less urbanized species. To my chagrin, my journey ended empty-handed. The woods were silent, not a bird in sight. I heard only one series of startled chirps down by the beaver pond, the species of which I could not identify. If I had to guess, most birds were roosting in the city. The city is likely warmer than centennial woods, given the impervious surfaces deflecting the heat.

I rattled on a few snags when I came across them, but there were no birds to be heard. If I were to expect any species to be occupying a snag, it would be a cavity nesting species or a woodpecker. I've several species of woodpecker in the dead of winter, and wouldn't have been surprised to have seen a few downy woodpeckers. The species that spend more time in wooded areas would likely find refuge in a tree cavity when temperatures are low, though perhaps Centennial Woods is too much of an urban edge habitat to support many woodland species.

הועלה ב-מרץ 4, 2023 02:01 לפנה"צ על ידי