ארכיון יומן של אפריל 2017

אפריל 14, 2017

April 11, 2017: LaPlatte River Marsh Natural Area and Shelburne Bay

On April 11, I visited the LaPlatte River Marsh Natural Area, and Shelburne Bay. This is the time of year that many birds migrate back to Vermont, and it was evident. I could hear many different warbler sings, although I did not actually see any. I also heard a pine siskin, which I had never encountered before. There were also many of the year-round residents out and about, such as the common merganser, bufflehead, mallard, brown creeper, song sparrow, black-capped chickadee, and hairy woodpecker, which were the first birds I saw upon entering the natural area. These birds can survive winters in Vermont because their feathers are warm enough that they don't get too cold and suffer. Additionally, birds that live in Vermont may have to change their diet for the winter. Birds that usually eat insects may have to eat berries and such in the winter because there will not be many bugs flying around. Birds such as sparrows that usually eat seeds and nuts can collect them and are able to survive throughout the winter. Woodpeckers can still find insects in the winter since they're found under the tree bark, so that is a reason that they forego migration. I saw some other water birds along that trail, such as the double-crested cormorant, great blue heron, great egret, canada goose, and a caspian tern, which was a really nice surprise. Another birder told me that the caspian tern just arrived here, would be sticking around the area for a few more weeks, and then continuing to migrate north. In the winter, caspian terns migrate to more southern bodies of water because there are more resources, such as fish. Now that it is getting warmer up north, the terns are coming back up north because there are resources in this region again. After spotting the waterbirds I saw an osprey that was looking for fish. Osprey are returning at about this time of year as well. Since fish make up most of the osprey's diet, they migrate south in winter where fish are abundant and where lakes don't freeze over. Now that spring has come, they are back because there are resources available.

הועלה ב-אפריל 14, 2017 06:26 לפנה"צ על ידי nickvance17 nickvance17 | 24 תצפיות | 0 תגובות | הוספת תגובה

אפריל 21, 2017

April 17: Lone Rock Point

On Monday I went to the trail at Lone Rock Point. The weather was not rainy, but it was a fairly cold and windy day. As soon as I got to the trail, I could hear plenty of song sparrows singing. Some looking around found me 3 of them in a tree not far from the trail. I continued on the trail towards the water and saw 2 blue jays flitting about in the pine trees. I followed them around, but they were pretty wary of me so they left the area. I then spotted about 5 turkey vultures soaring in the sky, presumably looking for prey. They were giant with silver on the inside of the wing, so I knew they were turkey vultures. Soon after, I heard the distinct liquid call of the brown-headed cowbird, which was a lifer for me, so I got really excited trying to find them. I soon found them in a bush. They weren't nesting, because brown-headed cowbirds lay their eggs in other species' nests, so they were presumably foraging for food. After that, I heard the distinct "phoebe" call of the eastern phoebe. I saw 2 of them on a branch nearby before moving on. I continued on the trail and then saw a yellow warbler hanging out in a tree, which was another lifer for me. I watched it for a bit before it flitted away. Soon after, I reached the water, and it was pretty hoppin'. The first thing I noticed were a group of tree swallows, another lifer for me, so I was excited about that. There were also some buffleheads, double-crested cormorant, common mergs, ring-billed gulls, herring gulls, american crows, and a common raven.

הועלה ב-אפריל 21, 2017 03:47 לפנה"צ על ידי nickvance17 nickvance17 | 15 תצפיות | 0 תגובות | הוספת תגובה

אפריל 28, 2017

April 25: Red Rocks Park

This time I went to Red Rocks Park. This is around the time of year that the birds that pick their mates, so naturally there will be a lot of singing and calling going around. I got into red rocks and immediately heard the song and chipping sparrows singing loudly, presumably to attract mates so that they can nest. Many song sparrows prefer to nest in bushes that are low to the ground, and I saw many doing just that in the nests at red rocks. Chipping sparrows usually nest on the edges of branches, and they can have a very rapid song when looking for mates. Many song sparrows have nests close to the ground because they forage on the ground, specifically insects and seeds. This way their nests are close to where they forage so it is easier to bring food to their young. When I got deeper into the park I started seeing juncos, blue jays, cardinals, downy and hairy woodpeckers, and ruby-crowned kinglets. As I got closer and closer to a blue jay, it started calling out at me loudly, so I can assume that its nest was nearby and it was trying to protect it. This blue jay' s nest seemed to be in an oak tree, which is a good spot for blue jays. This shows that this bird is fit and dominant because it was able to secure a good habitat to nest in. The same thing happened with a dark-eyed junco I saw on the ground, so I can presume that it was guarding its nest as well because they nest on the ground. They make their nests out of grass, bark fiber, twigs, moss, and maybe some other vegetation. They can find most of these on the ground where they nest or up in trees as well. I got even deeper into the park and saw two warbler species, a pine warbler and a yellow warbler. They were very hard to get a good view of because they were flitting around the trees so fast, but I was able to get a good enough view to ID both of them. I then got to the water and saw some turkey vultures soaring around, along with a great blue heron and 2 cormorants.

הועלה ב-אפריל 28, 2017 05:25 לפנה"צ על ידי nickvance17 nickvance17 | 13 תצפיות | 0 תגובות | הוספת תגובה

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