April 22 & 25

I went to Missisqoui National Wildlife Refuge and got a private tour with WFS of the area. It was earlier afternoon, with bright sunny skies and warmer temps (60 F). Then on Wednesday evening I went on a last minute stroll around the Intervale farms in Burlington. It was raining all day, caught a short dry spell, and was moderately warm (55 F).

The intervale was chock full of singing birds, mostly Song Sparrows and American Robins, that were almost entirely along the edges of the farm fields. These consisted of some smaller brush and small bands (15' wide) deciduous forest. While it seemed like these calls were coming from everywhere, after awhile I could pinpoint the same birds calling and distinguish their possible territory or nest site. The mini activity really helped with the accuracy and remembering which call potentially came from the same individual. As I approached these singing birds a lot of times they began calling frantically, leading me to believe I was encroaching on their territory or nest site.

Walking along one of the edges an American Robin flew right across my path with several hay straws in its mouth, looking at me and bouncing from limb to limb. Thought it was peculiar he wasn't building his nest, but given sometime he then popped down to his nest, which I did not see, and place the straws there. This behavior of not immediately flying to the nest, but possibly pretending to forage, is him watching for predators. However, there were no eggs in it so I am curious as to whether or not this was the case, or just him examining me.

While at Missisqoui I saw my first Tree Swallows in a field outside the visitors center. They were resting on a sign in the open, and then flying all around the field following each other occasionally. The park ranger, Ken Strum, pointed out the mating display of male Tree Swallows. While in flight they do a very quick and shallow wingbeat that slows them down quite a bit. Without having someone point it out it would like normal, but once seen I could point it out myself several other times. I believe the female was perched on the sign as the males were displaying in the air, occasionally coming back to the sign.

To compare two species nesting, I think the American Robin and White-throated Sparrows are two good examples. The American Robin nest was halfway up a midstory tree (haven't taken Dendro yet!), in the nook of three branches. It seems to be a relatively poor nesting site, being only 7-8 feet off the ground within full view. Other American Robins I saw seemed to have nests in higher quality spots, further off the ground and within denser coverage. Leading me to believe that the robin I witnessed may be a subordinate or has a lower fitness than its competitors. I noticed that they were were spending most of their time in the tree or foraging in the field for hay and other nest building materials. However, the White-throated Sparrow I spotted foraging along the ground. While I did not see its nest, I do know that they tend to nest on or very near the ground in dense vegetation. This is where I spotted it, presuming the nest had to be near.

The highlight of these two trips was seeing a lifer I have been searching for, the Merlin. Heard its call near the river, and walked over to spot it high in a tree across the Winooski. Super psyched I got my binoculars out and just as I got into focus a male swooped out of nowhere into the mating position. Several seconds later, with the male gone, I realized I just watched the true beauty of nature unfold right in front of me. Ah, springtime.

Posted on April 26, 2018 08:27 PM by srotella