Will's Field Journal #7

On Sunday, April 26th, I visited Centennial Woods in Burlington, VT. I walked the entire 2 miles starting from the runoff pond in front of the lower parking lot, and then through the far entrance in the parking lot I walked down to the beaver pond where I stood for around 5 minutes to do my sound map, then I sort of followed trails all over the place. Mainly hemlock dominated forest. I started the walk at 4:17 pm and ended it at 5:49. Weather was clouded and rainy and it was 60˚ F.

On this walk I observed a variety of mate selection related behaviors. For instance, I saw a Ruby-crowned Kinglet calling vigorously and displaying it's red crown, quickly drawing in two other kinglets. At the end of my walk I saw a male Brown-headed Cowbird singing from a prominent, bare branch of one of the tallest trees in the area, at which point one male and one female cowbird joined it. The singing male then performed a number of its high-pitched calls as well as a display where it sort of bowed down in front of the female and puffed up its feathers.

I also was happy to get great views of a Pileated Woodpecker. These birds have interesting habitat requirements for nesting, as they like to excavate large cavities, preferably in mature trees, where they build their nest. Other species may nest on the ground, or in large twig-based nest high up in trees, but many woodpeckers differ in this respect as they can nest in cavities that they are able to build. Since they primarily use their own body mechanics to make a nest, one benefit is they don't really need to gather very many nest materials. One notoriously territorial species I observed singing was a Hermit Thrush. This bird was deep in the woods out of view, but I heard its distinctive and beautiful song. I would say this particular bird was defending a prime territory, given that it was deep in the woods away from a trail where visitors may disturb it. The fact that it was defending prime territory suggests it is quite genetically fit.

Posted on April 26, 2021 03:47 PM by willbaxterbray