Winooski River

Time: 12:53 pm
Date: February 9, 2018
Location: Winooski River
Weather: Cold, cloudy
Habitat: Riparian

While birding along the Winooski River I observed a Canada Goose in flight. It displayed strong, deep wing beats and moved in a forward, direct motion. I also observed a Mallard in flight. This bird displayed similar strong wing beats, but they beat their wings faster and more often and the flight pattern was swifter. Both species seem to have slotted wings with a high aspect ratio. I believe that the flight patterns for these species must be energetically expensive yet well suited for the long-distance migrations they make.

The two species also have similar habitat niches. I observed a Canada Goose take flight from the water and it took a long run across the water in order to reach the speed necessary for take off. I believe this was necessary to its high wing loading. When the Mallard duck took off from the water it did not have to run but it did flap its wings furiously in order to achieve lift. This was most likely due to its smaller body size relative to its wings. Overall, the wings for Canada Geese and Mallard Ducks seem tailored to taking off and landing in water, and long migrations.

The only other species I saw was a European Starling. I did hear some other songbird activity but I was unable to identify the calls. I would attribute this to the time of day. It was 1 pm when I ventured out and birds are usually more active during the morning or evening. It was also extremely cold which may have affected bird activity. I would love to return to this beautiful area to bird earlier or later in the day when there is better weather.

Posted on February 16, 2018 06:38 PM by laurenberkley