Field Journal 4/26/2023
On Wednesday, April 26, I sat near some bird feeders in Centennial Woods from 4:00-5:30PM. It was sunny; the temperature was in the fifties; and the wind was low. Centennial Woods consists of varied habitat including wetlands and mixed deciduous/coniferous forest. Power lines run through the forest, and staghorn sumac thrives along the cut. The site I visited was just off Carrigan Dr., where deciduous trees and thick understory grow. I saw plenty of cover for songbirds.
The site had three bird feeders: a suet feeder, a feeder with just one type of seed (safflower?), and a feeder with mixed seeds. I saw a continuous stream of White-throated Sparrows foraging beneath the feeders and occasionally flying up to visit them, and I could hear more White-throated Sparrows singing from the underbrush. There was a grey squirrel foraging for spilled seeds beneath the feeders, but the sparrows didn’t seem to care. Black-capped Chickadees visited the feeders in waves, and both a Downy Woodpecker and a Hairy Woodpecker briefly ate at the suet feeder. A male Northern Cardinal landed next to the feeders, but didn’t eat anything. One interaction I observed was a White-throated Sparrow waiting patiently for its turn at the feeder while the Hairy Woodpecker was eating. Maybe the woodpecker was big enough to intimidate the sparrow.
I didn’t see any obvious courtship behaviors, but the presence of food would likely alter the natural behavior of these birds. I didn’t even see much territorial behavior besides the loud singing of the White-throated Sparrows. There may have been an occasional scuffle at the feeders, but nothing big. I expected to see more fighting than I actually saw, because I assume the feeders would be prime territory. Maybe there is enough food that the birds don’t feel they have to fight for it. I would have thought it would be more instinctual than that though.
White-throated Sparrows tend to build ground nests in areas of thick undergrowth, so I think it’s possible nesting was taking place near the bird feeders. Maybe the sparrows will build their nests closer together than they would if the feeders weren’t there. If that’s the case, they may be in trouble when the feeders are removed in a couple of weeks.
The woodpeckers at the suet feeder would have to go elsewhere to build nests because I didn’t see many snags in the area. I have noticed a higher density of snags by the wetlands where trees routinely get flooded. Downy woodpeckers apparently line their nests with wood chips, which means they don’t have to waste energy searching for soft fibers or other nest-building material.
