srotella's Journal

This morning I arrived at Delta Park in Colchester, VT, at approximately 8:45 a.m.. It was a warmer 35 degree Fahrenheit day with overcast skies. Delta Park is situated at the mouth of the Winooski River into Lake Champlain, comprising of natural sandy beaches, floodplain forest, and marshy wetland. The Rock Pigeons flew overhead south along the lake and the Fish Crows were along the edge of the forest and Lake Champlain. I had to walk about a quarter mile along the bike path to then be surrounded by bird calls, almost all of which I identified as Black-capped Chickadees or Tufted Titmice. They were all within a small area, some paired together, and were higher up in deciduous trees. The Northern Cardinal, Downy Woodpecker, and White-breasted Nuthatch were found at the edge of the forest next to a small open park, only a few hundred feet from suburban housing.

I observed a Tufted Titmouse for several minutes, analyzing its flight. It would complete short bursts of flight between tree limbs and branches, normally less than ten feet apart, mostly in the same tree. When flying it would swoop down below the branch it left, with a bounding flight it would flap its wings in spurts of 2-3 and then tuck its wings back into the body. It would repeat these short spurts of flapping until arriving at the next branch, normally only having two bursts of flapping per flight. The Tufted Titmouse has shorter rounded wings that is perfect for maneuvering between branches and great at very quick short flights. This correlates well with their foraging diet, moving quickly from tree to tree in search of insects and seeds. The Black-capped Chickadee has a very similar bounding flight pattern and basically fills the same niche in the environment, most likely why they forage together so often.

The other flight pattern I observed closely was from the Fish Crow. I found them mostly in the trees on the edge of Lake Champlain. The wind coming over the lake was strong and gusty, which disappeared the second I retreated back into the forest. The Fish Crows seemed to enjoy this wind however. They have broad round wings that flap in a slow rhythmic pattern high above in the sky, staying at a constant altitude and flying in straight line. However, when watching the Fish Crow over the lake in the wind, it would glide downwards and either flap it's wings back up or land in a tree or on the ice. This undulating gliding behavior is not something normally seen in the crow family. The strong winds and speed gained from dropping downward must've enabled them to increase the angle attack giving them more lift. Their broad rounded wings give them the ability to fly far distances while also the ease of an easy takeoff, allowing them to scan large areas for food to forage (eg. crabs, eggs, grain, trash).

I was very excited to see a male Downy Woodpecker at the end! Mumbling through a tree at about eye level, it was pecking its way up a surprisingly small tree. I was able to approach it and get right underneath it, less than five feet away, and take some good photos. In the field I was almost positive it was a Downy and not a Hairy Woodpecker, but I double checked at home by analyzing the red patch on the back of its head. Right after that I spotted a White-breasted Nuthatch foraging on a large oak. At home I further analyzed the picture and came to the conclusion that it was a female due to the lack of "black cap" on its head. Within seconds after that I spotted a female Downy Woodpecker higher up in an adjacent tree. I am fairly positive the Downy Woodpeckers are a pair. Upon further research it seems that the male of a pair will feed on smaller branches and the female will feed on larger branches, this is exactly the behavior I saw in the field. I am curious as to whether the woodpeckers and the nuthatches were in a foraging flock together, I did not have time to wait and see.