lydianapell13's Journal

I went to Centennial Woods from 3:00 to 4:30pm. It was very windy but clear, and pretty cold. I think the windiness affected how many species of birds I saw. I saw around 50 American Crows just flying overhead, 3 House Sparrows flying, and 2 Black-capped Chickadees in the evergreen trees. I also heard the chickadees singing.
The chickadees had a flight pattern that would be considered ballistic, where they flap a few times, drop, and then repeat. This was very different from the crows, which have a constant steady flapping. Chickadees have small round bodies with wings that are pretty short relative to their body length, whereas crows have a much longer wing. Chickadees generally live in suburbs, open woodlands, and clearings (very variable surroundings), and American Crows also have a very varied habitat, but I would say the area that they fly in is different.
Crows tend to fly very high up over open areas for long periods of time, whereas Black-capped Chickadees tend to fly in and around trees. I would assume that the shorter wing would give Chickadees an advantage over maneuverability in between branches, whereas the longer, broader wing on the American Crow gives an advantage in open spaces because they can get more lift due to the larger surface area compared to the body size.
This Field Observation wasn't as successful as I was hoping, and I think it was probably due to the time of day, the temperature, and the windiness. Next time I hope to go in the morning on a day that's less windy.