Date: April 22, 2024
Start time: 11:50am
End time: 12:50pm
Location: Adsit Ct. Burlington, VT
Weather: sunny, slightly windy, 42℉
Habitat: open habitat in a neighborhood, bushy edge habitat, a few large trees
Species:
Black-capped Chickadee
Cedar Waxwing
Ring-billed Gull
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
Northern Cardinal
For this field journal, I decided to stay close to home and observe the migrant birds that have started arriving in the areas around my house off campus. I saw a lot of the same species that I have been observing all semester such as the Black-capped Chickadee and the Tufted Titmouse, but there were definitely some newer arrivals that I was very excited to see (and just hear in some cases). A new species that I observed this time was the Cedar Waxwing. I saw about 4 or 5 of them in a bush next to my house and then they spread out to the surrounding trees when they noticed me. There is also a Blue Jay that has appeared recently and is always flying in and out of a certain bush on the edge of the yard. I assume it is building some sort of nest in the bush as it is constantly gathering materials from the yard before disappearing into the bush. I also heard a Northern Cardinal singing up in one of the trees, but I couldn’t quite pinpoint its location. There was a Ring-billed Gull flying overhead as well at one point. And as always, I noticed a bunch of Black-capped Chickadees all around the yard and surrounding trees.
As for behaviors related to mate, nest or territory selection, I may not have picked the best location to observe them, but I did notice a few things. I already mentioned the Blue Jay that was bouncing back and forth between the yard and a bush that seemed to be collecting twigs, grass blades, leaves, bark shreds and other small things to build its nest. This Blue Jay may have picked this bush as its nesting spot because it is hidden and protected from the elements and potential predators. Other species may need larger spots up in tree branches or even spots on the ground such as the Ovenbird that we learned about in class recently.
I also observed a number of Cedar Waxwings during this birding expedition. Cedar Waxwings are usually found in open woodland habitats and they usually nest in trees. The area that I was in is probably a pretty good territory to nest in as there are a number of large and protected trees for nesting, as well as fruit bearing bushes around the yards in the neighborhood. It didn’t seem as though any of these Cedar Waxwings were defending their territory yet. They may have still been scoping out the area and deciding where the best place to claim would be, but I can imagine when they do decide to defend this territory I will hear a lot more of their singing when other things get too close for comfort. I’m sure there are better and worse places within Burlington for these birds to claim as their territory which probably means that these individuals are in the middle of the pack in terms of fitness. The most fit birds would be claiming the prime territory probably closer to a woodland area (but still open enough) and the less fit birds will just claim territory wherever they can without having to fend off other birds of the same species or other species.
lydiathibault
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