tdemouth's Journal

It is indeed winter, it was a blistery day with clear gray skies. At around 12:30 pm I went out to our beloved centennial woods. I went all the way to the commuter lot and was going into the farthest entrance to be among the conifers. While I was on my way there, still in sight of the Doubletree, I heard the soft cawing of an American crow, it was rather far away flying through the air heading northeast.

My birds were all grouped up and while, not chatting they were chirping back and forth. There are many audio clues that were audible including danger calls and warnings to, me the potential predator. I saw a Black-capped Chickadee as well as a Northern Cardinal, they each have an advantage in different ways. The chickadee can blend into the environment and is better at surviving predators, while the cardinal's color helps it to attract mates and show dominance.

I didn't see many birds however I am not sure if centennial woods is the best bird habitat during the winter. There aren't too many places that have different age groups in the forest and very little under story. The birds I did see including the Black-capped Chickadee has a small aspect ratio and do not appear to be able to fly very far without stopping. While the Northern Cardinal had a higher aspect ration and seemed like it could fly for a while without landing.