Monday, April 20 - Pool Wildlife Sanctuary in Emmaus, Pennsylvania (8:00 - 9:30)

Birds were observed from 8:00 - 9:30 on Monday, April 20 at Pool Wildlife Sanctuary in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. The weather was 46 degrees F and cloudy with little wind. I walked along various trails at the sanctuary, and one of the trails followed a section of the Little Lehigh Creek. This was a forested area with mostly deciduous trees. The trees were a wide variety of sizes, there was a high level of underbrush. Many of the trees had buds or small leaves, and small flowering plants were observed.

During my time at Pool Wildlife Sanctuary, I observed 2 Eastern Phoebes by the river, perched on trees. I heard 1 Song Sparrow singing its song and 1 Blue Jay calling near the entrance of the sanctuary. I saw 3 Northern Cardinals, including a mating pair by the river. I saw 8 Mallards in the river, including a mother with 4 chicks. One American Crow was seen flying above the trees near the river. 2 Canada Geese were seen flying over the river. 6 American Robins were observed near the river. Most of them were in bushes or on the ground. One of these robins was observed in a nest on a branch in a bush. I walked from the trail near the river towards the northern end of the sanctuary. In this area, I heard 1 House Finch calling. I also saw 7 White-throated Sparrows moving through the forest's underbrush in a group. 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker was seen on a tree. 3 Carolina Wrens were observed flying around the underbrush. 2 Downy Woodpeckers were seen flying from tree to tree in the distance. I heard three Northern Cardinals, 2 Canada Geese, 2 Blue Jays, 1 White-throated Sparrow, and 1 House Finch calling in this area as well.

I observed two Northern Cardinals together, and one as male and one was female. It is likely that they were a mating pair. The birds traveled through the area that I was in quickly, and I was not able to identify any specific courtship behaviors. The two Downy Woodpeckers that I observed may have also been a mating pair. I was too far from the birds to be able to identify their sexes, but the woodpeckers appeared to be chasing each other through the trees. At times, it appeared that they may have been flying more slowly, which is known to be a courtship behavior of Downy Woodpeckers. The American Robin that was observed in a nest appeared to be building the nest. It was moving up and down and around in circles in the nest. It also flew out and back to the nest a couple of times, and it may have been gathering small pieces of brush to build its nest. There did not appear to be any eggs or nestlings in the nest. The robin's nest was in a bush on a branch, as mentioned earlier. The branch that it was on was hanging over the river. I observed 6 other smaller nests near the same trail by the river. All of these nests were perched on tree branches at least 10 feet above the ground. I was not able to identify the species of the trees where the nests were, due to the lack of leaves on them. However, all of these trees were deciduous. One more nest was observed in a deciduous tree, about 15 feet above the ground, next to a meadow in the center of the sanctuary. I did not observe any birds in the near vicinity of any of the nests, except for the American Robin's nest. All of the other nests were smaller than the American Robin's nest and were likely the nests of smaller songbirds. Also, the American Robin's nest was in a bush, and this was the only observed nest that was not high in a tree. I heard Northern Cardinals calling from different directions in the northern part of the sanctuary. One of the calls from coming from the west, near the river. The second call was from the north, in a densely forested area. The third call was from the east and appeared to be coming from far away, near a residential property that borders the sanctuary. These cardinals may have been defending their territories. I am unsure how to rank their territories in terms of how prime or poor they are. However, the cardinal heard in the east may have been defending edge habitat near a residential property, which could be considered prime territory. The other two cardinals were in forest habitat with dense vegetation, which could also be considered prime territory, because cardinals prefer to nest in dense bushes. All of these cardinals may have high fitness, because they likely have access to sufficient food (feeders) or prime nesting sites (dense bushes). The American Robin was observed in its nest, as previously mentioned. Its nest was made up of many small twig and thin pieces of grass. Most of these materials were most likely gathered in the near vicinity of the bush that the nest was in. The surrounding area had many small twigs on the grass and there was some grass like plants as well. The robin appeared to be building or modifying its nest while I was watching it. It appeared to be placing small pieces of brush in its nest.

Link to Mini Activity- Sound Map: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r34_aOR4U8iigEEczjQtsHm9bvjFucWT/view?usp=sharing

Posted on April 22, 2020 10:57 PM by andrewgigs