Shelburne Bay, March 7, 2018

On Wednesday, March 7, I headed to the Shelburne Bay area at 3:15 pm. It was a chilly, cloudy day and very lightly snowing. I drove down Harbor Road and stopped a few times to get out and walk around in the hopes of seeing some water birds. The first birds I saw during my observations were a whole group of Common Goldeneyes. I counted eleven of them. They were bunched into two groups and one flew out of the water suddenly away from me, making a whistling noise as it went. One other individual dove under the water for a moment, perhaps to look for food. Bunching together within the flock could help them retain body heat in the winter. Additionally, it appeared that a few of the Goldeneyes were keeping their heads very close to their bodies which could also be to stay warm. After that, I drove farther along the bay and stopped next to a field with nine Wild Turkeys. They were pecking at the ground looking for food close to a farm.

I drove to Shelburne Bay Park as my last stop, where I got out of my car and spent about an hour walking through the woods. In the parking lot, there were two American Crows on a nearby tree. They cawed a couple times as I walked into the woods, and I heard another American Crow call back in the distance. The trees were quiet for the first 10 minutes of my walk. I settled down in the middle of some conifers to see if I could hear any bird calls or songs. After a couple more minutes of staying quiet, I started to hear the yank sound of the White-breasted Nuthatch. I followed the sound and found two White-breasted Nuthatches making soft noises and pecking at tree bark. They would spend a little time on one tree and then fly to the next. They seemed to be a pair or mates that stuck together, as did the American Crows. As I was studying these two individuals, I also spotted a small Brown Creeper. I could hear its high-pitched, squeaky notes.

Once in a while I could hear the American Crows cawing in the distance. I also heard a couple of geese somewhere on the water. When I was walking back through the woods to leave, I heard the distinct call of a Black-capped Chickadee. When I followed the call, I found a group of five Chickadees all hopping around on the ground. They were looking for food, which is different to the last time I observed Chickadees when they were finding food on tree branches. Finding food in new places is a way the Chickadees have adjusted to the cold weather and limited resources in the winter. One of the White-breasted Nuthatches I had been following jumped onto the ground near the Chickadees as well to peck along the forest floor. The Nuthatches have also adjusted to foraging in the winter by seeking out the flock of Chickadees. All the noise and commotion coming from a group of foraging Chickadees may have helped the Nuthatches figure out where to find food.

When I got back to my car and started pulling away from the park, I saw the flock of Canada Geese I had heard earlier. There were eight of them and when I pulled over to observe they started making noises. As I watched the geese, a little American Robin was hopping in some nearby grass. The Robin may be confused by the big temperature changes we have been having lately in this area. The recent warm weather seemed like spring, but this drop in temperature could limit available food for American Robins. Among all these bird species, it was clear the primary way they sought food in this cold weather was to search and peck at the ground or sometimes tree bark. Almost the whole time I was observing, the birds were using all their energy to find food. The American Crows and Canada Geese didn’t appear to be looking for food, but both species were moving around quite a bit so they could have been searching for a new feeding site. The diets of these birds during the winter have less variety and bulk. They must spend far more time in this season looking for sustenance than the other seasons.

I saw a lot of dead trees and downed woody debris on my walk. The bulk of this material was located in the area I observed the Chickadees and Nuthatches. Snags and their cavities can be helpful for birds in the winter. They can use the snags for food and shelter. The Canada Geese were near some snags that had fallen into the water. Snags can contain insects for some birds to eat, or can act as a storage place for seeds and nuts. Most of the snags I saw did not seem to have any prominent cavities. Smaller snags may be beneficial to small bird species to feel more comfortable because they could use them to hide from predators. The larger birds I saw were in more open areas with less snags, probably because they have less use for them.

Posted on March 8, 2018 12:43 AM by kaswitze