ארכיון יומן של מרץ 2023

מרץ 4, 2023

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 angelo_trev angelo_trev | 2 תצפיות | 0 תגובות | הוספת תגובה

מרץ 25, 2023

Field Journal 4: Social Behavior and Phenology

24 March 2023

Start: 5:00pm

End: 6:20pm
Location: East Woods, South Burlington, Vermont
Weather: Sunny, 38 Degrees Fahrenheit. Mixed hardwoods and Hemlock forest, forest clearing.

A multitask of sorts, birding throughout a trip to Potash Brook for a lab assignment. The first hour was spent unsuccessfully. After the appearance of a few American Crows flying overhead before walking down the ice-covered trail, there were practically no birds to be found.

After lab ended, I spent some time wandering around the natural area while I still had some daylight. In my past experiences birding for this class, I’ve found that I find significantly more birds when I’m out in the open rather than in a wooded area. My running theory is that our resident winter species spend more time in gaps and edge habitat than in forested patches. It would make sense, as many of these species are generalists and would do well in developed areas anyways. I decided to spend another half hour searching through the gap made by the telephone wires for some more birds, and my decision paid off fruitfully.

As I stomped through the young pines and thickets, I could hear American Robins and Black-capped Chickadees singing. They were perched in the large trees that lined the manmade meadow, difficult to capture on my phone’s camera. Overhead I saw a medium-sized bird that I haven’t identified, one with a black body, brightly colored head, and white patched on the underside of its wings. It flew in a pattern of flaps and dives, crossing the width of the gap.

I manage to slide down the hill without a scrape and to my luck a group of Black-capped Chickadees were finally within sight. The birds would perch high in a tree and sing their pheobe call, often darting their heads quicky. It seemed like they were scouring the landscape for forage, darting to different parts of the tree, scanning for buds or leftover sumac fruits. I huddled in the small trees surrounding the meandering stream and began spishing. At first, there was no obvious reaction from the birds. Soon, more chickadees appeared, and it began to look like my spishing was agitating them. They wouldn’t keep still in a tree, and seemed as if they were looking for something. It could have been a result of my interference, though it appeared more like the chickadees were bickering over forage sites.

Species encountered:
American Crow (5)
White-breasted Nuthatch (1, sound only)
American Robin (3)
Black-capped Chickadee (5)
Canada Goose (1 flock overhead, 2 individuals)

הועלה ב-מרץ 25, 2023 02:57 לפנה"צ על ידי angelo_trev angelo_trev | 3 תצפיות | 0 תגובות | הוספת תגובה

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