Field Observation 2: Ecological Physiology
Sadly, it is very much still Winter, and with the storm covering everything in snow again there are few birds to be seen. I left the apartment around 10:00 am (Mar. 14, 2018) so that I could be back by lunch, and was greeted by Northern Cardinal song. He must have been somewhere in the trees behind my neighbor’s house, but I decided not to chase him down. Down the road a while I heard a House Finch calling from a big evergreen, I hear the song from the same tree often but have not yet managed to see the bird(s). I stopped to listen for a while anyway.
I walked over to the highschool because the road crosses Indian Brook and I have seen Mallards there in the past. I was disappointed though, because, in spite of waiting in the cold, no ducks showed up. I strolled over the the Village Cemetery instead, where I often see American Crows, but was disappointed again. At last, there were four European Starlings by the Amtrak, occasionally calling their unpleasant whistles. They were sitting on a telephone line, maybe it gives off a little heat. They were also a puffing up their feathers. The Amtrak is popular with European Starlings, and I assume it is a combination of garbage and hot busses that attracts them there.
On the way home, I caught sight of an American Crow sitting on what was once a church, but is now a PR firm (just a little fitting). The bird called a few times and took off lazily. When I got back, both the Northern Cardinal and the House Finch had moved on.
Observations
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