yisihe's Journal

In the start of the observations, I was worried I wouldn’t hit 40 observations of birds. However, it was easier than I had thought since birds are everywhere all the time. They even chirp and sing at night. While sampling the sites along the LA river, the most vertebrates seen were birds and they made up the most of the observational data. This was probably due to the amount of insects and plants available in each site. While plants and vertebrates didn’t share the same H’ trend among the sites, insects and vertebrates shared H’ trends that would suggest there was a relationship between them. Additionally, many of the sights showed very few tertiary consumers, totaling only 5 for all the sites combined.

Birds are important to the health of an environment. It provides a lot of vigor for an environment, contains different level of organization between the trophic levels and within bird groups and are very resilient and adaptable. Birds help with soil turning, as birds forage for food they rip up the plants and make it easier to decompose to the soil. They help control insect and pest populations, help decompose dead animals and spread seeds of plants (Jacob Hill, Environmental Science). In terms of organization, birds can have their own hierarchy in an cramped environment, such as the waterfowl in Almansor Park. Additionally, there are many different types of birds, some exclusively eat insects and others may only eat plants, and this shows different levels of organization. Finally, for resilience, birds can be quite adaptable. In Lower Arroyo, some resort to nesting under the Colorado bridge, and in Almansor many of the birds learned to rely on humans for food. This way, both species of birds are able to continue to grow and reproduce.

Birds are an important part of the biosphere, just like humans and biodiversity, it’s a cog in the machine. If the health of birds are good and performing well, then the biosphere are improves and works to continue to sustain life.

“Birds & Ecosystem Services.” EnvironmentalScience.org, www.environmentalscience.org/birds-ecosystem-services.

An observation that I’ve made about birds is that there are certain times in the day that birds are extremely noisy. Around 5 p.m the Hibiscus bush in my neighbor’s yard would be filled with chiping House Sparrows. It would continue for a while before it becomes quiet again. I’m not sure where they go but I’m just grateful that they are noisy all the time. Another example would be a Black Phoebe that visits my yard once in the morning and another time during the evening. It’s these patterns that help them ensure survival and reproduction.

It turns out that birds have a finely tuned biological clock that lets them know when to sleep, when to sing and perform other tasks. For songbirds, their biological clock lets them know when to sing and this helps be alert of predators around them or if there is potential mates around them. So, when the House Sparrows are noisy in my neighbors backyard they could be gather information or looking for mates (Cassone, 2012). Additionally, bird share the same higher cognitive skills but different structures in the forebrain. As a result, they learn the pattern of where to can find food just like other mammals (Cassone, 2012).The Black Phoebe probably developed a pattern to go to my backyard since I’ve seen it successfully catch bugs before.

Cassone, Vincent M., and David F. Westneat. “The Bird of Time: Cognition and the Avian Biological Clock.” Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, Frontiers Media S.A., 2012, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3309970/.

Despite living just near Almansor park, I don’t visit it very often. I only just recently started to go back there to collect observations for my specialty. There hasn’t been much change to it physically, but I definitely don’t remember there to be so many Canada Goose and American Coot roaming around the park. My main questions was, where were the Mallard ducks?

To my surprise, I found them tucked away under a tree. There was a small group of Mallards and one Mandarin Duck huddled together, and it seemed like they would fend off American Coots if one got too close. This happened in two incidents, once when I visited in late afternoon and the other when I visited in the late morning/ early afternoon. The only time I saw Mallards swimming in the pond was in the evening around 6 p.m. I found this very odd because in the Mallards in Lower Arroyo, Steelhead and Marsh park would be seen swimming around even with American Coots present.

I don’t think it’s because Mallards are submissive, paired males are often very aggressive and protect their territory by chasing away other males (All About Birds). However, since they live in such a small environment and they don’t have the numbers in their flock, the Mallards don’t occupy the pond as much. As a result, Canada Goose, American Wigeon and American Coots are seen openly roaming the area.

When I went to Almansor around 6 p.m, I noticed there were fewer Canada Goose than in the morning and that may be why the Mallards were hiding away. In short, while the American Coots out number the Canada Goose, the Canada Goose are much bigger and more aggressive than the Coots they are higher in the hierarchy. Next are the American Coots simply because of their sheer numbers and finally the American Wigeon which can be seen being chased away by the Coots at times. The Mallards only come out when there are few Canada Goose around.

“Mallard.” , Life History, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology, www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mallard/lifehistory.

One of the most exciting observation I made were the hawks in my local park. The Cooper Hawk was just perched on top of what looked like a nest box while the Red-Tailed Hawk was circling above the neighboring golf course. I was very fortunate to snap pictures of both.

I was shocked to see hawks in a local park that I’ve lived 15 minutes away from for my 20 years of being alive. I always thought they lived deep in the woods and preyed on small mammals. I was very wrong.

Red-Tailed Hawks are very adaptable and they can live in deserts, woodlands or even farmlands, but they require open space to hunt (Biokids, University of Michigan). This could explain why the one I saw was circling a golf course, which is just an open grass field. Cooper Hawks, however, prefer the woods more than an urban setting. Their bodies and tail feathers even seem more streamlined, making it a skilled flyer that can navigate the trees in a forest (All About Birds). However, since Cooper Hawks prey mainly on small birds, it may be there for the abundant pigeons, seagulls or House Sparrows present in the park.
To give background the pond in Almansor doesn’t look the greatest, but it supports various fish species, turtles, frogs, various waterfowl and tertiary consumers such as Great Blue Heron and Double-Crested Cormorant. It’s more than just a few animals, there’s a complete ecosystem.

It made me think about the Oak Grove Disc Golf Course that had plans to be improved, and how it could be beneficial to biodiversity around it if the correct design was implemented and resources were managed. According to a study about the effects of a golf courses’ fertilizer and pesticides on salamanders, it showed that there was no significant impact on the ground and surface water from the chemicals. As a result, the salamanders, an “indicator” species, were doing fine (Conette, 2014). It further pushes the idea that golf courses could be beneficial to conservation or at least not damage it.

With that being said, it’s important to strike a balance between the renovation of a golf course and the health of its environment.

Work Cited

“Cooper's Hawk.” , Life History, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology, www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Coopers_Hawk/lifehistory.

“Could Golf Courses Actually Boost Conservation?” Conservation, 14 May 2014, www.conservationmagazine.org/2014/04/could-golf-courses-actually-boost-conservation/.

“Red-Tailed Hawk.” , Life History, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology, www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-tailed_hawk/lifehistory#at_behavior.

Web, Animal Diversity. “Critter Catalog.” BioKIDS - Kids' Inquiry of Diverse Species, Accipiter Cooperii, Cooper's Hawk: INFORMATION, www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Accipiter_cooperii/.

Web, Animal Diversity. “Critter Catalog.” BioKIDS - Kids' Inquiry of Diverse Species, Buteo Jamaicensis, Red-Tailed Hawk: INFORMATION, www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Buteo_jamaicensis/.

One of the observations that I made was that some birds flock together and some don’t. It seemed like those that usually ate bugs/ small animals were mostly alone while those that eat seeds and fruit were found in large flocks. A prime example would be the Black Phoebe and House Sparrow. Black Phoebes would be exclusively alone while House Sparrows would always be in a group. Additionally, many of the birds that would be considered as secondary or tertiary consumers also hunt and travel alone.

While there’s advantageous to traveling in a flock, there’s also reasons to travel alone, but I ultimately think if a bird travels in a flock or not is determined by their diet.

House Sparrows mainly eat seeds and since it’s easier to find in large quantities than insects, House Sparrows can afford to travel in packs. Their large numbers can also mean better protection from predators. During a trip to Almansor park, I noticed a bush that was filled with the noisy House Sparrow. I heard many inside the thick of the bush but I also saw many posted on the outside the branches. There was one particular House Sparrow that I thought was sizing me up, its chest was puffed and it even looked a little bigger than the rest. After a little research, I came to the conclusion that it was a male House Sparrow ready to breed because of how dark the mask around its face was and its dark beak. The large flock also means warmth during the night and a more likely chance to find a mate. (Mayntz, 2017)

Black Phobes are mainly bug eaters. I was fortunate to catch a glimpse of how they hunt because there’s one that almost always perches near my window. (However, I haven’t seen it lately and I suspect a Yellow-Rumped Warbler may have taken the Phobes’ spot.) For what I’ve observed, they would perch up high, scan the area and swoop in when they see an insect. I don’t see an insect in their beak most of the time but when they do get one they fly to another perch and eat it, probably to ensure it doesn’t get stolen. It’s just more difficult to catch a bug than to eat seeds, and it would take more energy. They hunt and travel alone to prevent competition and stay hidden longer.

The only bird I’ve seen that doesn’t fit this mold would be Mockingbirds. They eat bugs and fruits, but they also hunt alone. I suspect this is due to their ability to mimic multiple bird calls, thus effectively confusing predators nearby. As a result, they don’t need the protection of a flock and they get to consume all of what they find.

Although I mainly focused on House Sparrows and Black Phobes, it can be applied to many different birds. Hawks catch prey by searching the sky and swooping in for the kill, it’s an action that requires a lot of energy, so it would just make sense that their kill would help replenish for what was used. In short, birds that don’t use a lot of energy to hunt stick together while birds that use more energy are solitary.

Work Cited
“Black Phoebe.” , Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology, www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Phoebe/id.

Mayntz, Melissa. “Why Birds Flock and Why It Matters.” The Spruce, 4 Apr. 2017, www.thespruce.com/what-does-a-flock-of-birds-mean-386452.

“Northern Mockingbird.” , Life History, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology, www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Mockingbird/lifehistory.