sdurant's Journal

On April 23rd I went for a walk through Centennial Woods on UVM campus. I went for the walk between 6:30 and 8:30 am and it was around 45 degrees. I heard a lot of different birds throughout my walk. I heard the Robins, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Black-capped Chickadees and Kinglets towards the beginning of the walking trail on the edges of the deeper forest. Then I got to an opening in the forest that had multiple large trees covering the area. That is where I saw the Barred Owl. Along with this beauty, I heard both types of Nuthatches, Crows, Wrens, and Woodpeckers from the trees surrounding this dark clearing.

I visited the Intervale walking trails in Burlington Vermont on April 25th. I went for the walk around 11 am and stayed there until 12:30. It was around 50 degrees but it was drizzling for most of the trip. I heard more birds than I saw. I heard a Northern Flicker across the body of water and saw a Mallard fly over the same body of water. I saw Brown-headed Cowbirds, Downy Woodpeckers, Red-winged Blackbird and Northern Cardinals on the edges of the forest. The Mourning Doves, American Robins, Song Sparrows, Pileated Woodpeckers, Crows, and Hairy Woodpeckers were deeper in the forest.

The Brown-headed Cowbirds I believe were showing mating behaviors. There were two of them sitting on the same branch and It sounded like the male was singing to the female. Every now and then the male would move slightly closer to the female. I didn't really see any other mating behaviors. I did see quite a few nests but there weren't any birds in the ones I saw. I found the most nests kind of up high and deeper into the forest. There were probably some that were near the edge too but I didn't see those ones. The deeper into the forest the nests are and the more hidden they are in the trees help to protect them from predators. The nests were probably also placed int he optimal places to get food. Birds that eat seeds would probably be near the plants and trees they get those seeds from. Birds that eat bugs would probably be the ones deeper in the forest and closer to the bottom of the tree.

The Downy Woodpeckers were fighting over territory. I heard intense singing and screeching. Then one Woodpecker started chasing two others away from the area. I would say it was protecting a prime territory. It seemed that there were a lot of Woodpeckers in that area and there were quite a few dead trees, which means this is an area with an abundance of food. I would say that the bird that drove all the others away is probably the strongest fit and the "alpha" since it seemed that once he started freaking out all the other birds left. The American Robin would probably build its nest out of mud, twigs, leaves, and other materials found on he forest floor like pine needles. I don't think they would have to go far since most of those materials can be found on the forest ground and right below the tree where their nest is.

I went for a walk by Lake Champlain again on April 18th. I went for the walk around 11 am and it was about 40 degrees out. I saw the American Robin on the dirt next to a sidewalk. The Song Sparrows I saw and heard when I passed by a thicket of trees. That is also where I spotted the nest. The tree holding the nest was close to the outskirts of the thicket. I also heard Black-capped Chickadees and Crows in that area as well.

On April 2nd, I went on a walk down by the waterfront of Lake Champlain. I went on the walk after my Ornithology class at around 11 am. It was between 45 and 50 degrees and the sun was shining. I heard a lot of different birds like Black-capped Chickadee's, Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays, Tufted Titmice, Woodpeckers, and Nuthatches. I also heard some birds that I couldn't figure out what they were. These birds were in a thicket of trees and were hidden. I only got a picture of one bird but I couldn't really tell what it was. The recording titled Northern Cardinal is from that thicket and you can hear multiple different bird calls and songs during the recording.

All the birds I heard on my walk are year-round residents. Birds like Blue Jays, Black-capped Chickadees, Ravens, Tufted Titmice and many more decide to stay rather than migrate. They might forego migration due to the fact that it is so energetically expensive. They have a better chance of survival and use less energy staying where they are. Since we live in an area that gets pretty cold, they have to be able to survive in the sub-zero weather. These birds have a high reproductive rate but they also have a high mortality rate. To keep warm they will shiver, huddle, fluff out their feathers, go into torpor, etc. Black-capped Chickadees specifically go into facultative hypothermia which helps to conserve heat. They also have ways to cool off during the high temperatures during the summer.

The facultative migrants are coming from the south and stopping by on their way north. Facultative migrants typically move short distances and are flexible with the timing of migration. Since these birds are flexible, they notice when it starts to get warmer/colder and the skies start to clear and they migrate then. We have had a few warmer weeks in March before the snow storms and that might have given these facultative migrants a false sense of the weather. This caused them to move back up north before actual springtime. Obligate migrants are hardwired to migrate at the same time every single year, regardless of warmer or colder weather. Advantages are that they are coming at the beginning of spring and are expecting warm weather with easy access to food. An advantage is that they are most likely coming after the facultative species meaning that they have less competition for food. A disadvantage is in cases like this week, when it snows in April and once again food becomes scarce. The snow along with the cold weather makes it harder to find food and survive for these species that are not used to it.

Mini Activity: Every bird that I saw and heard was a bird that is a year-round resident. Thus they do not migrate and stay in the area.

3/19 Shelburne Farms in Shelburne Vermont
On Monday, March 19th, I visited Shelburne Farms and walked along the walking trails. I visited the farm around 11 am and walked around for two hours. The temperature was around 28-30 degrees F. I saw some Black-capped Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches as well as a two Red-tailed Hawks. The Black-capped Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches were near the beginning of the walking trails on bird feeders. The Red-tailed Hawks were flying in an open clearing in the middle of the walking trails.

During my walk, the Black-capped Chickadees, and the White-breasted Nuthatches kept to their own trees and didn't really interact with each other. They barely interacted with their own species either. I watched the bird feeder for 15 minutes and there was only ever one bird on it at a time. The Hawks, however, did interact with each other. They flew in big circles around each other and then took off into opposite directions. The Hawks were a pair trying to look for food, which is why they flew away from each other.

The plumage of the Black-capped Chickadee is that they have a black head and bib. The back of the bird is grey and the belly is white. The White-breasted Nuthatch has a blueish/grey back with a white belly. They also have a black head. Lastly, the Red-tailed Hawk has a dark brown back and a streaked white belly. They have a red tail and dark wing tips. The Black-capped Chickadee and the White-breasted Nuthatch blend in with the wood of trees during the winter. So that helps to protect them from predators. The Red-tailed Hawk is hard to see which helps them sneak up on their prey. The Red-tailed Hawks were hunting for food. That behavior fits more into the circadian rhythm because hunting is something that these birds do daily. They need to eat every day and not just when the weather changes, which means that it is a circadian rhythm behavior.

I went on a bird walk around 9 a.m. on Marth 14th, 2018 during the blizzard. I went behind my house to the conservation land to find some birds. The temperature was around 28 degrees Fahrenheit. During my bird walk this week, I heard Northern Cardinals and Tufted Titmice. I couldn't see them due to the snow and I'm pretty sure they were hiding from the cold. I was able to hear both the Northern Cardinal and the Tufted Titmouse.

Some ways that birds conserve heat is through physiological, behavioral, and morphological means. Tufted Titmice, like Black-capped Chickadees, go through facultative hypothermia which is a physiological adaptation. During facultative hypothermia, the bird's body temperature drops to conserve heat. This usually occurs during sleep. Another way for birds to conserve heat is for them to puff up to try to conserve the heat. This is what Northern Cardinals do. These birds also may huddle together to try to persevere heat. These birds are mainly scavenging for food and sleeping. The Northern Cardinals and Tufted Titmice usually eat seeds and nuts. Those may be hard to find during the winter. Usually, Tufted Titmice eat insects but those are near impossible to get during the winter. Northern Cardinals usually eat seeds year round but they also eat fruits. During the night they will probably be in their nests. Northern Cardinals usually nest in shrubs or vine tangles and Tufted Titmice usually nest in holes in wood or snags. Snags are important because they provide shelter for many songbirds like the Tufted Titmice.

I visited Red Rocks on February 15th and 16th. On the 15th, I visited the park around 8 in the morning and it was about 30 degrees Fahrenheit. During my trip I heard Black-capped Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches. They were hard to see so I wasn’t able to get a picture, but I was able to get a recording of the Black-capped Chickadees. These birds were located on the top of trees that surrounded a clearing at the park.

On the 16th, I attended the park at 11 am and it was 40 degrees Fahrenheit this time. Along with the warmer weather it was also raining just a bit. Once again, I heard the Black-capped Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches along the edges of the forest. While walking past the lake, I saw some Common Goldeneye Ducks sitting in groups. Walking into a deeper part of the woods surrounding the park I heard and saw an American Crow flying above me.

One difference in flight that I saw was between the Black-capped Chickadee and the American Crow. The Black-capped Chickadee didn’t spend much time in the air. They liked to fly back and forth small distances to other tree branches. Their flight pattern is more quick bouncy movements. The American Raven seemed to be able to travel a longer distance by soaring rather than needing to flap their wings every time. While the Black-capped Chickadee flapped their wings fast, the American Crow has slower wing flaps.