bird2525's Journal

Time: 8 AM to 11:20 AM, 4/27/24
Location: Green Mountain Audubon Center, Huntington, VT
Weather: 55° F, mostly sunny, light wind
Habitat: Forest, field, marsh

On Saturday, I went on the bird banding trip with the UVM birding club. We got to see 4 birds being banded - 2 Black-capped Chickadees, a Hermit Thrush, and a Pine Warbler. We learned about how they band the birds, what measurements they take, and how they try to determine the age and sex of the bird. We waited in the area by the headquarters for awhile to see if more birds would fly into the mist nets, but none did. We did however see a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker drilling on a tree, a Broad-winged Hawk flying overhead, an Eastern Phoebe, an Eastern Bluebird, some Ruby-crowned Kinglets singing and flitting around, and a Blue-headed Vireo that someone in the group identified by call, that we then saw a glimpse of when it flew.
Later in the morning, we went on a walk around the trails. Here we saw another Bluebird, an American Robin, and a Tree Swallow in the field, some Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows in the brush, Red-winged Blackbirds in the marsh, and a Brown Creeper in the forest. We also heard some Song Sparrows in the marsh and a Winter Wren in the forest. In a pond in the marsh, we saw a group of Common Mergansers, as well as some Canada Geese.
One of the geese decided to follow us, and it ended up following us for around a quarter to half a mile. Along the way, it scared up an American Woodcock, which was suprising to see in broad daylight. Also, we saw a Spotted Sandpiper fly along a river and land on a rock in the middle of it.

Total Species List:
4 Canada Goose
4 Common Merganser
1 American Woodcock
1 Spotted Sandpiper
1 Broad-winged Hawk
1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 Blue-headed Vireo
3 Black-capped Chickadee
2 Tree Swallow
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Brown Creeper
2 Eastern Bluebird
1 Hermit Thrush
1 American Robin
4 Dark-eyed Junco
2 White-throated Sparrow
3 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Pine Warbler
Heard only: Song Sparrow, Winter Wren

Time: 9:20 to 10:20 AM, 4/21/24
Location: Centennial Woods, Burlington, VT
Weather: Mostly Sunny, 46° F, Light wind
Habitat: Forest, Pine Forest, Marsh

For this journal entry I went to Centennial Woods. Near the entrance I saw there was a Downy Woodpecker and a Black-Capped Chickadee on a seed/suet feeder combo attached to a tree. The suet cage was empty, but the woodpecker was trying to snatch any small granules of suet that remained. I also saw and heard an American Crow fly overhead. As I moved into the pine forest, I saw several Tufted Titmice and Black-Capped Chickadees flying around.

As I reached the clearing, I could hear a Song Sparrow calling in from the reeds. For awhile, I looked for it but couldn't see it, but then I eventually did catch a glimpse of it. Meanwhile, I saw a crow mobbing a hawk that was soaring overhead. I was never quite sure of the identity of the crow or the hawk. While I did hear the crow, it sounded somewhat intermediate between the American and Fish crow calls, while also sounding more 'screamy'. I'm not sure if that was because it was particularly angry at the hawk and doing an uncommon alarm call, or if it was just a weird sounding individual, or perhaps even a hybrid. I noticed the hawk had a black-and-white striped tail, which signals it was either a Red-Shouldered or Broad-Winged Hawk. I'm leaning towards Broad-Winged because it seemed on the small side - around the size of the crow, but I'm not sure.

On the way back, I saw a few more - or perhaps the same - chickadees and titmice in the pine forest area, and then I saw a pair of American Robins in the parking lot across the street from the entrance to centennial.

Full Species List:
1 Red-Shouldered or Broad-Winged Hawk
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 American Crow
5 Black-capped Chickadee
2 Tufted Titmouse
2 American Robin
1 Song Sparrow

Heard only: Eastern Phoebe, Red-winged Blackbird, Northern Cardinal, Common Raven

Time: 3:15 - 4:15 PM
Date: 4/7/24
Location: College Street and UVM Campus
Habitat: Developed/Urban
Weather: 51° F, Clear skies, moderate wind

I walked up College Street towards UVM, looking for Waxwings on the berry trees on the strip between the sidewalk and the road. I saw several Cedar and Bohemian Waxwings in one of these trees, eating the berries. On campus, I saw a few Ring-Billed Gulls flying around and also saw and heard a Common Raven, and saw two Turkey Vultures soaring overhead. On the way back, I stopped by the berry trees again, and the waxwings of both types were still there, and I also saw a Black-Capped Chickadee in the tree and an American Robin on the ground. I also saw some of the waxwings fly to a place on the ground where there was still a small patch of snow and eat the snow as a means of getting water.

Species list:

3 Ring-Billed Gull
2 Turkey Vulture
1 Common Raven
1 Black-Capped Chickadee
1 American Robin
3 Bohemian Waxwing
5 Cedar Waxwing

Time: 3:45 - 6:00 PM
Date: 3/15/24
Location: Durham, New Hampshire
Habitat: Developed (UNH Campus), Fields, and Water (Durham Reservoir)
Weather: 42º F, light wind, overcast and intermittently drizzling.

Note: I am unable to view the prompts, so this is a general summary of my walk.

This walk was done with my Dad, who is a professor at UNH, a colleague, and two of their students. We started on the UNH campus, where we saw Dark-Eyed Junco, Tufted Titmouse, Black-Capped Chickadee, and White-Breasted Nuthatch in the trees between the buildings. Then we went towards the fields, where we saw a Feral Pigeon and some Eastern Bluebirds. The bluebirds were flying around the field and at different times perched on a tree at the edge of the field, a wire, and a soccer goal. We also saw a few Killdeer, running around in parts of the field that were puddled from rain accumulated over the past few days.

Then we went up towards the Horse Barn, where there was a small swampy area in between the road and a parking lot. Here, we saw several White-Throated Sparrows flitting around in the shrubbery, along with a few more Dark-Eyed Juncos. There was also a pair of House Finches up in a tree. I also heard but did not see a Song Sparrow. In the fields by the Horse Barn there was a large group of European Starlings mixed in with a few Red-Winged Blackbirds. There were also some American Robins that were hopping around in the grass and I saw them pull a few worms out of the ground. There were some House Sparrows hanging out around the outline of the barn itself, perching on the edge of the building and hopping on the ground just outside of it.

After that, we continued towards Durham Reservoir, where we saw some Canada Geese on the water, as well as a Mourning Dove and another White-Throated Sparrow. As we continued around the reservoir, we saw a pair of Mallards, heard a Blue Jay, saw another Eastern Bluebird, saw a pair of Ring-Necked Ducks, and saw a few Red-Winged Blackbirds that we also heard making both their conk-a-RY song and their chuk calls. Finally, we headed back towards the main campus, where we saw and heard a Fish Crow, to cap off the walk.

Species list:
7 Canada Goose
2 Mallard
2 Ring-Necked Duck
1 Feral Pigeon
1 Mourning Dove
3 Killdeer
1 Fish Crow
2 Black-Capped Chickadee
2 Tufted Titmouse
1 White-Breasted Nuthatch
50 European Starling
3 Eastern Bluebird
3 American Robin
5 House Sparrow
2 House Finch
3 Dark-Eyed Junco
4 White-Throated Sparrow
7 Red-Winged Blackbird

Heard only:
Blue Jay
Song Sparrow

Time: 8:15 to 9:15 AM on February 19

Location: Burlington Waterfront - walked from Waterfront Park to Perkins Pier to the bridge

Weather: Clear, no precipitation. 20° F with a consistent biting wind.

Habitat: Lake, softened by a breakwater. Some shrubs and trees on the shore.

For this journal entry, I also went birding at the Burlington Waterfront, checking most of the same places as I did two weeks ago. It was colder today, and I also saw fewer birds, perhaps due to the cold. The only species I was able to identify were Mallards and Common Goldeneye. I saw one pair of Mallards by Waterfront Park, and a larger group near the bridge. Also near the bridge, there were a pair of Goldeneye. These birds were behaving similarly to how they normally do, and they didn't seem to be paying much attention to the cold. However, there also was a group of Mallards hanging out in the pools of still water in the Burlington Wastewater Treatment Plant. I think this may have been warmer than the open lake water, since there are walls surrounding the pool that can help break then wind. These mallards were also staying pretty still and not moving around much, which could have further helped them to conserve heat.

Besides the birds I was able to identify, I also saw a sparrow or junco-sized and shaped bird hopping around in the bushes. It wasn't staying very still, and the lighting also made it hard to note the colors of its plumage, so I couldn't identify it for certain beyond that it was a Passerine. It did appear a bit plumper than Sparrows or Juncos usually are, so I think it may have fluffed up its feathers to help conserve heat. Additionally I saw some crows flying overhead and landing in a tree, but they never made any noise so I can't tell if they were American or Fish Crows.

There were not many clearly dead trees in the area where I was walking, however that may have been where many of the birds that seemed absent this week were hiding. I imagine that the birds most likely to use cavities in dead trees as a way to keep warm in the winter are passerines and woodpeckers. Passerines are small enough to fit into sufficiently big holes, and woodpeckers can make a hole bigger as needed since they drill into trees to find food anyways.

Species List:
40 Mallard
2 Common Goldeneye

Time: 8:50 to 9:50 AM, Feb. 3, 2024

Location: Burlington Waterfront - walked from Waterfront Park to Perkins Pier to the bridge

Weather: Fully overcast at the start, but gradually clearing. About 50% cloud cover by the end. Snow flurries throughout. Around 30° F, with a moderate wind.

Habitat: Lake, softened by a breakwater. Some shrubs and trees on the shore.

Notes: I currently can't view the prompts, if I'm able to find them I'll update this to add relevant info.

I started my birding journey at Waterfront Park off of College Street. Immediately, I saw some ducks swimming in the water. Upon looking at them through my Binoculars, I was able to tell that they were Mergansers. Some appeared to be Red-Breasted Mergansers while others appeared to be Common Mergansers due to their different sizes and shapes. I took some photos, and when I got back I was able to confirm that there were some of each since some had a white patch on their chin, indicative of a Common Merganser, while others did not, indicative of a Red-Breasted. All of the Mergansers appeared to be female, though upon further research they could also be immature males. I noticed the Mergansers were dragging their bills through the water, perhaps looking for food.

Next, I heard some cheeping from a nearby bush, and so I looked around for a songbird. I didn't see anything at first, but then a sparrow flew up. I noticed it had a black spot on its chest, so I wondered if it could be an American Tree Sparrow. It also had a rusty cap, so that also lined up with what an American Tree Sparrow would look like. Upon returning, I was able to confirm that it was an American Tree Sparrow. This is the first one I've seen since I started reporting my sightings to eBird, which was in 2016. While I initially was just hearing it, it soon flew up to a conspicuous perch on top of a bush, which provided a good opportunity for photos. It was also chirping at regular intervals while it sat there. It's call was one note, high in pitch and clear in tone.

Turning back to the lake, I saw a bunch of Mallards, all close to the shoreline. Overall, there were around 25 of them, but some were in smaller groups consisting of one or two pairs. I noticed one pair of Mallards bobbing their heads up and down as if they were vibing to music. I didn't see any other Mallards doing this nor have I seen it in the past, so I'm not sure what that was about. I also saw a few Mallards standing on a piece of wood sticking out of the water and preening themselves, and I was able to take a video of this. Unfortunately, iNaturalist doesn't allow me to upload .mp4 files so I can't share it here.

I then started walked past Perkins Pier towards the bridge. At this point, my camera died, so I couldn't take any more photos. On the way, I saw a female Northern Cardinal. It was hopping along a chain fence and seemed to be eating some red berries that were growing on a vine. Nearby, I also saw some House Sparrows hopping around the fence.

As I approached the bridge, I saw a flock of Common Goldeneye, around 20 of them. There was also another flock of Mallards nearby, and the two flocks passed by each other and even seemed to mix together for a second, but then the Goldeneyes continued to swim past the Mallards and each individual went along with its flock. However, as I was looking at the Goldeneyes, I noticed one individual in the flock was not a Goldeneye, but had a red head, indicative of either a Redhead or a Canvasback. I was not expecting to see either of these species, so I was not familiar with how to best distinguish them, and I had also forgotten to bring my bird book, so I noted as many things about it as possible in the hopes that I'd be able to distinguish them. I noted that it had a gray bill, red head, black in the front of the body, and a wavy gray pattern for most of its body and its wings. Upon returning, I saw that my description matches that of the Redhead, while the Canvasback has a black bill, some black on its face, and a whiter body. Because of this, I'm pretty confident that this was a Redhead. After observing the Redhead and the Goldeneyes for a bit, the whole flock took off - the Redhead included - and flew along the shoreline towards Waterfront Park. I'm not sure where they went after this, and I did not see them on my way back even though I was walking in the direction they had flown.

Species list:
50 Mallard
1 Redhead
20 Common Goldeneye
4 Common Merganser
2 Red-Breasted Merganser
3 House Sparrow
1 American Tree Sparrow
1 Northern Cardinal