Field Journal 4
Date: March 25, 2024
Time: 1:15-2:15pm
Location: Redstone Pines Area
Weather: The weather here today was 40 degrees Fahrenheit and very sunny! There is about 50% humidity and 7 mph winds. The skies are clear.
Habitat: Redstone Pines is an area on campus with an abundance of conifers and some deciduous trees scattered throughout (but mainly on the outskirts of the pines area).
Today was a great day for birding! The weather was great, and the snow was beginning to melt, so the birds were quite active/chatty! The pines in this location are tall, so the birds up in the trees were mainly just heard and not seen, but I could see many flying about way above me. I saw four White-breasted Nuthatches all on one tree at one point scavenging for food, which was great. There were also Black-capped Chickadees flying about frequently, and a couple Northern Cardinals that were very chatty throughout my observation. I heard A Pine Siskin at one point, and I THINK that I saw it, but it was too high up to be able to confirm (that was the most I have ever heard a Pine Siskin before though, so that was a new experience).
While I mainly observed year-round species today (White-breasted Nuthatches, Black-capped Chickadees, and Northern Cardinal), it was interesting looking at some of their typical range patterns. Most of them (not all) stay year-round all throughout the US and parts of Canada. These birds forego migration because it is most likely more energetically expensive for them to migrate, and they put themselves in greater danger to new predators in other areas. Choosing not to migrate means that they have to be behaviorally/physically adapted to the conditions present in their home ranges. Feathers play a crucial role in keeping these birds warm; feather fluffing is common to trap pockets of air around their bodies. Huddling, undergoing hypothermia in the night, and locating warm cavities to reside is also common. These birds must scavenge/eat a majority of the day in order to obtain enough calories to get through the winter.
The one facultative migrant I observed was the Pine Siskin! This bird has quite the variable migration pattern, being present in areas one winter while completely absent the next! Non-breeding Pine Siskin are usually found in Central, Northwest, and the East Coast of the US, while year-round are more West and North (through Canada). Breeding Pine Siskin travel farther north in Canada in early spring to late summer, so the Pine Siskin I observed, depending on if it breeds, will be migrating north soon. As the temperature starts to warm, Pine Siskin are able to fly north where they can rely on cone crop sources for food. All in all, though, this species is a habitat generalist and will travel to any place with a dependable food source. They are known to have a very irruptive migration pattern.
I wanted to add to my journal that over the weekend I was in Montreal, Quebec; while crossing the border on the way back into Vermont, there was a strip between the roads consisting of small bushes with some sort of red tops to them. I was unable to tell exactly what it was, but there were dozens of American Robins on these bushes and the ground, scavenging for food and eating the red parts on the bushes. It was shocking to see how many of them there were, for I am still not used to seeing so many birds due to the colder weather (it makes sense now considering it is approaching spring/if not spring technically already). My assumption was that the American Robins have returned from their winter migrations and are ready to begin mating shortly. With research, I found that they are short-distance migrants to the US (in the fall) and return to Canada and Alaska when it is time to breed, so that confirmed my thoughts. It was interesting to see all of the (very plump) American Robins so active, and it makes me very excited for the coming spring when more birds start returning to Vermont!
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