Field Journal Entry #6

Date: April 22, 2024
Start time: 11:42
End time: 12:49
Location: Redstone Pines
(44.471185, -73.199668)
Temperature: 35°F
Wind speed/direction: 7 NNW
Precipitation: 0”
Habitat(s): mixed deciduous coniferous, forest edge

Species List:
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
American Tree Sparrow
Common Grackle
American Robin
European Starling
Red-bellied Woodpecker
House Finch
Blue Jay
Chipping Sparrow
Barred Owl
American Goldfinch

Today’s fieldwork took place in and around the Redstone Pines in order to observe some of the behaviors birds display that are related to mate selection, nest selection and territory selection. When I first arrived, I was walking behind the Blundell House where there were some shrubs and other woody vegetation. I stopped here because I heard many bird songs and calls and wanted to check it out. From within the vegetation, I heard the unmistakable song of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. We had just spoken about them earlier in the day during class so I was very excited to be able to encounter one in the wild! They were moving sporadically around the shrub singing and calling which I could attribute to one of three things: singing for a mate, trying to scare off other birds or looking for materials to build their nests. After a closer inspection, I could see several other bigger birds also in the shrubbery such as Dark-eyed Junco, Blue Jay and American Robin.
When sitting still, listening to the birds sings, I heard the call of a Barred Owl somewhere deeper within the pines. This got me thinking about how their nesting and territory selection and needs differ from those of a song bird. Whereas a song birds may collect small twigs and leaves to build its nest in low-laying vegetation, a Barred Owl would most likely be looking for denser, morse mature forest stands where they can build their nests higher up. Upon hearing a second call from the Barred Owl, I decided to venture deeper into the Redstone Pines to see if I could spot it, but left unsuccessful.
According to the Cornell Library, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet “nests high in trees, and so prefer older, taller, and denser stands to younger ones.” I found this interesting because all of the Ruby-crowned Kinglets that I saw today were singing and hanging out in low shrubbery and younger trees. This made me think of two possible reasonings behind this behavior: 1. They were defending their territory in the shrubs or 2. They were collecting small twigs and leaves to bring back to the tall, more mature stands of trees in the Redstone Pines. If the Ruby-crowned Kinglets were defending territory, I would say that it is poor compared to what the could have in the pines and therefore would indicate poor fitness. Comparatively, the Barred Owl would have to acquire much larger sticks to build its nest and may even use stick platform nests made by other animals which would not require it to leave the mature coniferous forest.

Posted on April 23, 2024 12:18 AM by noxgiordano