Golf Course/Bio Research Complex Birding

Field Journal #7
4/16 9:00-11:00
55 F Overcast - Post-rain
Open Field/ Forest Edge
For this field journal I was surprised by the amount of bird activity in the location, so I knew I had to begin recording data. I was in a field by the Bio Research Complex on Spear st. adjacent to the golf course. I happened to be there for a geology lab, but we were being quiet and we were on site for long enough that it mad sense to do the journal.
Birds had been calling the whole time since we got there. I noticed Black-capped Chickadees and American Robins along the field edge and they were constantly calling. A typical pair of Canada Geese flew by from the golf course and I had my first Red-winged Blackbird sighting as it flew quickly across the field from edge to edge. This forest edge habitat was perfect for species wanting open space but also some thicket for homes and food. Being adjacent to the golf course also provided more open space.
One thing that mad me want to start recording was when I notice two large birds across the field. As time went on I noticed they were building a nest on top of a platform. For a long time I was deciding between which kind of hawk I thought it was, but a classmate told us they were actually Osprey. These birds were soaring around and bringing sticks up to the platform for the nest. After some time our presence didn't seem to bother them, but I could tell they were watching us.
This nesting platform provided them with a great spot to watch their surroundings. It didn't offer much protection, but those birds are probably pretty secure as the top of the avian food chain. The other birds I saw would likely be nesting in the lower brush or in trees where they were more protected from other parties. These nests consisted of small twigs and grasses that could have been found close by, but the Osprey nest had larger sticks and fibers from farther away. I saw the bird carrying materials in from ways away.
For the sound map activity I noticed that the birds were mostly concentrated along those edges where they might be looking for a mate or protecting/building a nest. To indicate the bird song I started a line and tried to move up and down with how the song went. For example, a Black-capped Chickadee made a line looking like this ^.

הועלה ב-אפריל 23, 2023 06:56 אחה"צ על ידי