tzumbo's Journal

Weather: 45 degrees and very windy
Habitat: rocky with minimal ground vegetation, trees leafless
Time: 5-6:30pm

This past Thursday I decided to venture alone for some birding at Ethan Allan Park in Colchester. I bundled up in many layers and headed out into the windy trail. Overall this was not a very active area of forest, but I still managed to spot some typical species of the area. Some year-round residential species that I observed were the Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, House Finch, Tufted Titmouse, and a Hairy Wooodpecker. These species all adapted to harsh Vermont winters due to their food supply being readily available in this habitat and perhaps physiological changes in body temperature via "regulated hypothermia". I did not note any special migrants in this habitat, but both the Herring Gull and the Carolina Wren may be considered visitor species. A distinct "teakettle teakettle" call was heard, which I found unusual to hear while in VT. After looking at Cornell's All About Birds, I noticed that Carolina Wrens are not noted in Vermont on their map region, however eBird has published sightings from around the area recently. This makes me believe that the Wrens have moved Northern possibly due to human interference pressures or warmer temperatures that are arriving to Burlington for spring. The Herring is also a semi-migratory species that we comely see invading Burlington every spring. Once Lake Champlain thaws the Gulls have wider food resources here in Burlington, rather than in the winter months. Some other observation I made at the park was of a gorgeous, plump, Hairy Woodpecker that flew down in front of me mid-way. He was hammering away at the bark with his beak. However, I knew he was a Hairy rather than a Downey Woodpecker due to his sheer size and comma stripe! A House Finch was also expressing his lovely song to a female in a nearby pine. Love was in the air at Ethan Allan Park! Overall, the park was not a hotspot for many species. However, it was still good to explore the area and try somewhere new!

The weather has been crappy for the past few weeks, but I figured today was as good as ever to venture down to Delta Park, right next to Champlain and the Winooski River branch-off. It was windy as ever on the waterfront at a temperature of 35 degrees (I'm sure the real-feel was much lower). The habitat is generally very flat wetlands with patches of residential streets nearby. The water flowing into the delta was moderately choppy due to the wind, so the only wading birds were only found more inland or near a land break.

To start I ventured into a pedestrian walk trail that led to waterfront. I did not stay long from the blustering winds, however I stayed to observe a flock of Ring-billed Gulls. They seemed to just be wading and hovering over each other, so I decided to move on. The bike path itself was fairly quiet from pedestrian visitors which gave me some great glimpses at wildlife. A mating pair of Wood Ducks slowly swam farther inland as I approached the trail. The male was absolutely stunning! Across the bridge I observed Robins chasing each other in a residential yard, and later some more individuals flying across the path. The biggest find of the day was an extremely quick glimpse of a Bald Eagle flying over-head! He was too fast for me to snap a photo.. Shortly after I began to hear a lot of strange "mimic-like" songs in the trees above me, and noticed a huge flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds. The computer dial-up noise was very extreme in this flock! On my frigid walk back home I didn't stop to observe much, however a male Red-winged Blackbird stopped me with his mating calls. He was highly perched in an habitat edge tree and calling repeatedly and loudly for a good period of time. Guess he was looking to find someone to take to formal!

Temperature: 55F
Weather: Sunny w/ slight wind

After a rainy morning, the weather decided to clear-up and therefore I decided to take an adventure down to the waterfront to find some bird. I've walked through Roundhouse Park before, but just had not taken proper birding equipment to record observations. During a Thursday afternoon the park and bike-trail were both quiet from human activity. I was hoping to get a glimpse of some unique waterfowl near shore, but unfortunately none were spotted (expect 2 Canadian Geese). The majority of individuals in the area were European Starling and Common Grackles. You could heard their distinct calling and imitations all throughout the line of coniferous trees lining the bike-path. This was the most condensed area of forest that I noted on the property. Many males were perched on subsequential trees next to each other, fluffing and voicing their song. I am unsure if these behaviors are for breeding, territory defense, or both. I saw multiple European Grackles finding human food from the park while foraging. This makes me believe that this is a very competitive spot for these species, and that territory defense is high. A Common Raven also flew into to the park to pick up human-like materials, probably to build a nest!

Before I left the park I noticed a beautiful purple Rock Pigeon that appeared to be frozen, laying in the grass. I approached and clearly the bird was scared, but was not able to physically right itself or fly away. The individual was also favoring it's left side while laying down. After some time the bird attempted to fly, still favoring the left side, and flew in a wide circular motion until it crashed back down into the grass. There were no apparent lesions on the bird, so I naturally thought of Listerosis aka "circling disease". I am also currently in Wildlife Disease this semester as well, and we have learned about multiple avian diseases. It was great to finally put that new knowledge to use!