Field Journal 1
I visited the Burlington Intervale on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, and started birding at 11:35 am (end time: 12:36 pm) It was a warm day for February, with temperatures at 30 degrees Fahrenheit and a light 2 mph southeast wind. Unlike January, the sun was visible but was occasionally obscured by clouds. The trail entrance was next to two fields, one of which looked like it was being used to grow crops of some kind. The other side was more open, with longer grasses organized in plots. The trees were primarily silver maples of considerable size. The closer the trail got to the river, the larger the maples seemed to get.
Unlike the trail entrance, the area next to the river was bustling with life. Black-capped Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches were the most vocal residents, with the chickadees staying close to the tops of trees and the nuthatches hopping from tree to tree. Many of the species I logged were those I only heard or saw briefly. This includes each of the woodpeckers. The only woodpecker that stayed in one place for longer than 30 seconds was the Hairy Woodpecker, which allowed me to get within 10 feet of the tree it was on before flying away.
The further away I got from the trail entrance, the more I saw and heard birds closer to the ground. The Black-capped Chickadees there were more likely to fly to lower branches and perch near the trunks of trees. Tufted titmice were the opposite, in that they preferred to perch close to the ends of branches. Many of the titmice would look directly at me before flying away. They took around two to three wing beats to fly from branch to branch. On their short travels, they would jump off one branch, dip a bit in height, and then start flapping. I did not see any of them on the ground, but if I did, I would assume they would have to jump forward or use forward momentum to gain enough thrust to start flying. Perhaps Tufted Titmouse prefer denser patches of forest for this reason.
While I overall had great luck with birds, I wonder if the lack of birds I saw during the beginning of my walk was influenced by people walking their dogs nearby. While the dogs did not bark or chase after birds, they are still large animals that could spook birds. The light winds I had also could have helped my luck. If I were birding during a time of high winds, I likely would pick a more densely vegetated area where some of the plants could break some of the wind.
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