Field Journal entry #3

Emmie Bryson
Start time: 8:10 am
End time: 9:30 am
Date: March 8, 2021
Location: Centennial Woods, Burlington VT
Weather: cold (12 degrees), breezy, clear/blue skies
Habitat: somewhat open habitat, next to wetlands, small shrubs, a few trees

Throughout the course of this birding excursion I saw a variety of birds in Centennial Woods. The temperature was fluctuating between ten and fourteen degrees while I was there. However, with windchill it was about six degrees. The sky was clear and blue and there was a breeze, but it was less present the further I got into the woods. Since it was so early, there were a lot of birds I could hear in the treetops above. However, the identification of songs is more challenging for me than physical identification making it hard to tell what bird was singing and how many there were. The habitat was somewhat mixed because I was next to a Northern Hardwood stand and a small open shrubby/wetland area. This section was on the opposite side of the woods that I was observing in my last journal so I was hoping to see different species. The hardwood portion of the woods had a variety are large pine trees and a few maples. The wetland type area to my right had what I identified to be honeysuckle and dogwoods scattered over a thick blanket of snow.
Majority of my time was spent watching Black-capped Chickadees move around on the lower branches of the wetland-type habitat. I was expecting to see some winter activity in these areas because they seemed like a good spot to scavenge for food on top of the snow. The Chickadees I saw looked like pulled apart cotton balls in a way, their plumages were puffed out and they sat so low to the branch that it didn’t even look like their feet were below them grasping on. They only ‘deflated’ this puffy look when they were flying from branch to branch (which is what I saw them doing majority of the time—making it hard for me to keep track of them/get a decent photo). They appeared to be branch hopping and swooping down to stand on the snow for a minute and look around. From what I observed the birds were eating a variety of seeds (that I was unable to identify), I would expect this to continue in the summer months but I would also expect to see them eat more fruits and insects in the warmer months that are not available right now.
I saw a lot of snags on the northern hardwood portion of my site. I identified some of these as pines but a lot of them were too rotten for me to identify. I saw a Downy Woodpecker on one of the snags, pecking a small cavity (about 1/3 it’s size). I also saw some American Crows in this portion of the site, but they did not seem too interested in the snags I was observing. I saw a lot of large cavities dug into some of the snags (mainly ones that had not yet knocked over). I assumed that these cavities were for smaller mammals (such as squirrels and chipmunks) to use for winter homes. Snags are extremely important because they provide shelter and micro-habitats for a variety of wildlife species. They are also a hot spot for insects that aid in decomposition which provides a food source for other species. I think that snags are most likely to be used by a species that eats a lot of insects (such as Woodpeckers) or by species who are seeking shelter (such as mammals in the winter).

Posted on 10 de março de 2021, 02:29 AM by erbryson74 erbryson74

Observações

Fotos / Sons

What

Chapim-de-Cabeça-Preta (Poecile atricapillus)

Observador

erbryson74

Data

Março 8, 2021

Fotos / Sons

Nenhuma foto ou som

What

Corvo-Americano (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

Observador

erbryson74

Data

Março 8, 2021

Fotos / Sons

Nenhuma foto ou som

What

Trepadeira-Branca (Sitta carolinensis)

Observador

erbryson74

Data

Março 8, 2021

Fotos / Sons

Nenhuma foto ou som

What

Tordo-Americano (Turdus migratorius)

Observador

erbryson74

Data

Março 8, 2021

Fotos / Sons

Nenhuma foto ou som

What

Pica-Pau-Felpudo (Dryobates pubescens)

Observador

erbryson74

Data

Março 8, 2021

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