Field Journal 3 Ecological Physiology

On March 3 I joined Zoey and several others at 10:00 am for a birding excursion that worked its way north from the green in front of the Waterman building up to the woods located between Mcauley Square and Hillside Terrace. The weather was gorgeous for the first week of March with clear skies, bright sun and the temperature hovering around 45 degrees Fahrenheit with a very mild south west breeze.

The outing started off quite well as we observed a group of 7 Cedar Waxwings in the trees on the green in front of Waterman. The Cedar Waxwings were quite active and were moving between the trees they were perched in to a fruit tree approximately 50 meters or so apart. Due to the warm temperatures it stands to reason the Waxwings were not as concerned with retaining body heat as they would be in colder conditions. However winter is still in effect which could contribute to the fact that the Waxwings were clustered together around a shared resource. Once the weather warms up and more food resources are available and mating season begins it stands to reason that the Cedar Waxwings will disperse from there winter groups.

Throughout the walk through some of the suburban parts of Burlington many birds House Sparrows, American Robins and European Starlings in particular were all quite active. They were still in clumps usually around a resource such as a fruit tree or bird feeder. The birds seemed to be spending a majority of their time foraging. As this was one of the warmest days of the year today it made sense that the birds were taking advantage of the conditions to forage. Once spring sets in the birds will spend less time congregating around shared resources and will shift their diets. American Robins in particular will move from a berry based diet to a more worm based diet.

The woods located between Mcauley Square and Hillside Terrace contained an abundance of snags. I came across two Downy Woodpeckers foraging for insects in the snags. While many birds may rely on snags for foraging purpose they can also serve as shelter during cold winter nights. Black-capped Chickadees will use larger cavities in snags as shelter and nests. On a non birding related note we came across a Racoon who was cradled at the top of a snag taking a mid morning rest. In terms of where birds will overnight during the winter some like the Chickadee will rest in cavities while others will huddle together in bushes sheltered out of the wind. The American Crow which we observed flying overhead will roost together during the winter in very large groups.

Posted on 06 de março de 2020, 01:34 AM by tsshafer