Arquivos de periódicos de março 2020

06 de março de 2020

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 tsshafer | 10 observações | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

24 de março de 2020

Field Journal 4 Social Behavior and Phenology

On March 24th I went out birding from 2:30 to 4:00 in the Malone Memorial Recreation Park and along the Salmon River. The weather was quite pleasant and the snow that had come yesterday had melted off for the most part. The temperature was around 38 degrees Fahrenheit with partly sunny skies and a very slight west breeze.

Prior to the inch or two of snow that came on the 23rd of March the birds had been becoming much more active. They were not as active today as they had been in the preceding week but I anticipate that there activity will pick back up throughout the week. The first birds I encountered were a pair of Downy Woodpeckers. They were both foraging on some snags on the edge of a clearing. Both of the Downy Woodpeckers I observed were males with the distinctive red patches on the back of their heads. I came across a group of 12 American Robins. With the start of spring and a wider access to food the robins were no longer congregating around a shared food resource such as a fruit tree. This particular group were spread out across the ground presumably foraging.

Along the Salmon River which flows through the village of Malone I observed a large group of Canada Geese and several Mallards. In terms of plumage it appears that the Canada Goose has a counter shading style with dark brown, tan colors on their back and white on their belly. This dark coloration on their back could provide a level of camouflage with the ground and their white bellies would reflect the color of their surroundings enhancing their protection. The plumage style of the Canada Goose can be contrasted to the Mallard. The female mallard has what I would call a cryptic coloration pattern with a tan body with dark brown streaking throughout. Presumably this would also aid in hiding them from predators similar to the Canada Goose plumage. This plumage style of the female Mallard would also be quite effective when they are nesting. The plumage color of the male Mallard however is quite different. The males have a more solid grey body color with a rich brown chest. The most distinctive feature was their bright green heads. I would guess that this prominent head coloration would serve two features for male Mallards. First it may help attract a female and secondly while the female is sitting on the nest the more visible male Mallard would be more easily spotted by predators and thus could guide predators away from the nest.

The Canada Geese were resting for the most part on a several of the small islands in the river. However several of the Geese were very aggressive. One Canada Goose in particular was lowering his head and extending his neck out in front of his body while raising his wings up over his back. This goose then proceeded to chase several other geese out of his area on the shore. I would guess that this was a dominant male chasing off several juvenile males. I would also presume that mating season has started or is close to starting for the Canada Geese in this region of NY. The goose who was chasing off several other geese was presumably trying to defend his mate or his potential access to a mate. Canada geese mate once a year in the spring. The lengthening of the days and the warming temperatures most likely triggered the territorial behavior among the Canada Geese I observed as they prepare to enter the mating and breeding season.

After observing the first Black-capped Chickadee I saw today I attempted several pish calls to see if I could draw out any other Chickadees. It didn't really seem to work although I did see several more Chickadees not long afterwards. In terms of why sphishing works on Chickadees and other small birds I would guess that they are being startled more than attracted. I would guess that this sound might be alarming to Chickadees either mimicking another birds alarm call or that of a potential predator. The sound doesn't seem to scare off the birds more than it seems to agitate them until ceased. The Chickadees might wish to alert their kin or neighbors to a potential threat and thus become agitated at the sound of pish calls.

Posted on 24 de março de 2020, 09:26 PM by tsshafer tsshafer | 6 observações | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

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