camillamsucre's Journal

Camilla Sucre
Field Ornithology
28 May 2021
Field Journal 5 – Fun Birding Day 2
Start Time: 10:00 AM
End Time: 12:45 PM
Location: Backyard in Somers CT
Weather: Cloudy/Overcast, 61 deg F, NNE 6 mph
Habitat: Forest (tree species: maple, pine, oak, juniper, cedar), grassland, bushes
Total Number Observed: 66
Species Observed: American Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Red-eyed Vireo, Swamp Sparrow, Wood Thrush, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Red-tailed Hawk

Reflection:
The American Goldfinch I had spotted was sat on a branch, not making any sounds, which I suspect is due to the Red-tailed Hawk that had formed a nest nearby and was soaring over the canopy of trees. The House Sparrows were present in a couple of bushes surrounding the house, chirping. It was interesting hearing a Swamp Sparrow calling, because I have seen that they aren’t common in CT, so it was confusing to hear them at first. I came across an American Robin’s nest, where there were a couple of babies in the nest, and the (what I assume to be a male American Robin due to its bright belly) dad was chirping defensively, so I didn’t stay too long in that area.

Camilla Sucre
Field Ornithology
27 May 2021
Field Journal 3 – Fun Birding Day 1
Start Time: 8:00 AM
End Time: 12:00 PM
Location: Cove Island Park (Stamford CT), Irwin Park (New Canaan CT)
Weather: Sunny 80 deg F, wnw 11mph wind
Habitat: Waterside, Marsh, Grassland, Forest, Trails, Shrubbery
Total Number Observed: 219
Species Observed: European Starling, Canada Goose, Herring Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Common Grackle, Northern Cardinal, House Sparrow, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Black-capped Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Grey Catbird, Common Yellowthroat, Blue Jay, Northern Mockingbird, Song Sparrow, Eastern Phoebe, American Robin, Wood Thrush, Eastern Towhee, Tufted Titmouse

Reflection:
Overall, I didn’t see/hear as many species as I had hoped to, but I did see a lot of individuals of each species listed, which was nice. In Cove Island Park (located in Stamford CT), I only saw a handful of birds that were like the water bird day (Grackle, Starling, Goose, Gulls, House Sparrow). The Canada Geese were split like 1/5 on land eating and the rest in the water, floating. The European Starlings were in some trees grouped together, calling and singing their songs, while a few Common Grackles hopped around on the shore. Once I was there for about an hour and a half, I decided to go to Irwin Park (located in New Canaan CT) for the remainder of the day. Walking along a trail, lots of trees were there, providing a nice hiding spot for most birds. I definitely did not see a lot of birds, but I did hear a lot of them. I saw a Gray Catbird, which I experimented PSH-ing with, and it got a bit closer, and started chirping a lot more. A Northern Mockingbird was going on for a while, and I definitely heard some familiar species in its complex repertoire. Lots of House and Song Sparrows flew throughout the fields, and stayed in groups on the grass field, eating.

Camilla Sucre
Field Ornithology
26 May 2021
Field Journal 2 – Forest Birds
Start Time: 7:00 AM
End Time: 12:00 PM
Location: Cherry Lawn Park (Darien CT), Tilley Pond Park (Darien CT), Woodland Park (Darien CT), and Selleck’s Woods (Darien CT).
Weather: Sunny, 75 deg F, ssw 10 mph wind
Habitat: Forest, trails, trees (species: oaks, maples, various conifers, ashes, etc, various ferns, shrub trees)
Total Number Observed: 219
Species Observed: Blue Jay, American Robin, Common Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird, Great Egret, Baltimore Oriole, House Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Canada Goose, European Starling, Chipping Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Red-eyed Vireo, Wood Thrush, American Crow, Hermit Thrush, American Goldfinch, Mute Swan

Reflection on bird behavior:
Cherry Lawn – A Great Egret flew at an oddly slow pace up to a tall tree above me, where it sat and stared ahead. A Red-winged Blackbird and Baltimore Oriole sat in the same tree, where the Egret did not really interact with them. The Blackbird and Oriole made their usual calls and songs, and the Egret had no reaction. A few minutes later, the Egret flew down on a log that was placed in a small pond, and the Blackbird followed, still making its noises (Egret remained unbothered and was “grooming” itself). The Common Grackles, Song Sparrows, and House Sparrows sat in a grassy area, picking at the floor. The Blue Jays remained high up in the trees, making their presence known with their loud calls and songs.

Tilley Pond – One of the biggest flocks of Canadian Geese I have ever seen; majority of them floated around in the pond, while the others picked at the grass eating and chasing after people that walked by. Grackles and Starlings ate far away from the geese, and the Robins stayed in one area with one another, also on the grass. The Blue Jays here also stayed high up, calling.

Woodland Park – Blue Jays called high up in the canopy, while Northern Cardinals called, but moved around frequently. The Red-eyed Vireo sat on a branch singing, still in its place. Red-bellied Woodpeckers made their calling noises that were spaced very far apart from each other (30 second intervals).

Selleck’s Woods – Mute Swan was very territorial. I admired from afar, and when I attempted to get closer, it swam at a rapid pace toward me, and I ran away. American Goldfinch was sat on a tree branch, hidden in the leaves.

Camilla Sucre
25 May 2021
Start time- 8 am
End time- 12 pm
Weather- 65 deg F, s 8 mph wind, partly cloudy/sunny
Habitat- Grassland/Shrubland
Total number observed- 224
Today, I noticed similar species from yesterday's birding, but seeing new species today and their projection when calling was really interesting and very fun to listen to. The park was quite loud, which made it very difficult at times to record the songs and calls, but using my ears and birding by mostly ear today was definitely a challenge, but a very fun one.

Camilla Sucre
Field Ornithology
24 May 2021
Field Journal 1 – Water Birds
Start Time: 7:30 am
End Time: 11:30 am
Location: Pear Tree Beach, Darien, CT
Weather: Cloudy/overcast, 62 deg F, S 12 mph wind
Habitat: Wetland, grassland, beach, water body
Total Number Observed: 228
Species Observed: Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, American Robin, Mourning Dove, Mallard, Song Sparrow, European Starling, Ring-billed Gull, Tufted Titmouse, Red-winged Blackbird, Marsh Wren, Common Tern, American Crow, Wood Duck, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Mockingbird, Common Grackle, Canada Goose, Rock Pigeon, House Sparrow, Great Egret, Carolina Wren, Swamp Sparrow, Least Sandpiper, Great Black-backed Gull, Double-crested Cormorant

Camilla Sucre
WFB 130
Allan Strong
10 May 2021

Field Journal 8:
Start Time – 2:00 pm
End Time – 3:30 pm
Location – Central Campus/Trinity Campus
Weather – 61 deg F, partly cloudy/sunny, w 10 mph wind
Habitat – Fairly scattered with trees, sidewalks, mowed patches of grass
Total number of species observed – 62
Species observed – 8 American Robin, 39 European Starling, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, 2 Ring-billed Gull, 2 Rock Pigeon, 1 Mourning Dove, 7 Black-capped Chickadee, 2 House Sparrow

Date: 8 May 2021
Start Time: 9:00 AM
End Time: 11:00 AM
Weather: 55 deg F, drizzle rainy
Habitat: Marsh, Wetland Forest. Two separate bodies of water rich with species and open area, allowing for extra bird sounds
Number of Individuals: 23
Species:
Black-capped Chickadee 3
Song Sparrow 3
House Sparrow 6
Tufted Titmouse 2
Northern Cardinal 1
Mallard 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 2

Camilla Sucre
Date: 26 April 2021
Start time: 1:00 pm
End time: 2:30 pm
Location: Colchester Bog, VT
Weather: 42 deg F, NNW 16 mph, no precipitation, mostly cloudy
Habitat: Wetland, forest (conifers, maples, blueberry bush, witch hazel, etc), open fields scattered throughout
Species: 22 Black-capped Chickadee, 5 American Robin, 7 Song Sparrow, 1 Downy Woodpecker, 2 Tufted Titmouse, 10 Canada Goose
*NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS: 47
This week, I decided to go back to Colchester Bog, located in Colchester VT. I wanted to go back again because of how awesome it was to truly see some variation and also walk around and sit and really watch them this week. Walking to the wooden deck trail that leads further into the more wetland-type habitat, I sat down for 10 minutes listening to the sounds around me (mini activity portion). I noticed that there were Northern Cardinals calling to each other in 4 different areas (all essentially at the corners of the “circle”). A Black-capped Chickadee was heard from the leftmost area of the circle as well. Overhead through the rightmost area of the circle, Canada Goose flew over in their formation.
Behaviors that I noticed firstly was the way a pair of Black-capped Chickadees interacted with each other in a tree. One of the chickadees mostly stayed on the branch while the other hopped around to nearby trees and then back to the other chickadee. I would say that this is a pretty normal behavior of chickadees anyways, but I interpreted it as possible mates or “flirting”. The next behavior I noticed was a nest with 2 Song Sparrows inside/surrounding the nest in a taller tree. One of the sparrows sat in the nest, ruffling the leaves and twigs around, which led me to assume the other sparrow was watching and protecting the area while the other sparrow did some “renovations” to their nest. I think this was defending territory in a bit of a poor manner because on the floor below them, were two Tufted Titmouse(mice??) on the floor foraging as well.
I think today what I learned about the fitness of birds is how the Northern Cardinals really projected high up in the trees and were able to be heard essentially everywhere in the area we were in. I think those birds that can go high up into a tree and project their call or song overhead are the ones who are more fit, compared to the chickadee I heard pretty quietly during the mini activity portion. I think that the Song Sparrows in their nest had retrieved their materials from the litter below them or in the area surrounding the tree they were in.

Camilla Sucre
Date: April 19, 2021
Start Time: 1:00 pm
End Time: 3:00 pm
Location: Colchester Bog, VT
Weather: 50 deg F, SSW 10 mph, no precipitation, partly cloudy/sunny
Habitat: Bog, Wetland
Species Observed:

• Northern Cardinal: 6
• Black-capped Chickadee: 9
• Song Sparrow: 3
• American Robin: 3
• Tufted Titmouse: 4
• Downy Woodpecker: 3

Camilla Sucre
Field Journal 5
Date: 5 April 2021
Start time: 1:00 pm
End time: 2:30 pm
Location: Salmon’s Hole, Burlington, VT
Weather: 54 deg F, NNW 20 mph wind, no precipitation (sunny/partly cloudy)
Habitat: Water body, forest, brush
Species observed: M+F Common Merganser (3), American Robin Downy Woodpecker, Ring-billed Gull, Song Sparrow, White-breasted Nuthatch
When thinking about the species I observed today and their migratory patterns, I know that American Robins are here in Vermont year-round due to their evolution to the cold weather (such as their plumage that can endure precipitation as well as cold temperatures). American Robins are capable of staying south of Canada all year, and some can migrate even further south, near Mexico (Mini activity: 2600 miles from Burlington to Mexico *will all be added in later paragraph).
Another species observed today was the Ring-billed Gull, which is a southern migrant each winter season (facultative migrant, meaning it essentially has no scheduled migration at a specific time each year). The Ring-billed Gull will travel to southern states in the winter due to increased temperature but is commonly seen in VT around this time of year once early spring occurs. These gulls enjoy being near water, and sadly due to climate change, the ice cover in Lake Champlain has drastically decreased, which allows these gulls to consume and be able to live here for a longer period of time.
The birds I observed today were new (for the most part), so that was very exciting for me to be able to see a Downy Woodpecker, Male and Female Common Mergansers, as well as hearing a Song Sparrow! Highly recommend this area!
Mini Activity: Total mileage from observed species: ~5,600 miles