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)
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