emma_jean's Journal

Date - April 4, 2021
Start time - 2:00
End time - 3:30
Location - North Ferrisburgh, VT
Weather - 48° F, 10 mph wind out of the North West, sunny, 80% cloud cover
Habitat - Deciduous forest in addition to edges of hay and corn fields. Woods consist primarily of hickory, maple, ash, elm, and cottonwood.

I returned to the forest surrounding my house for this field journal. The area has been full of Ring-billed Gulls in the last few days after we had a great deal of rain last week. One species that stays very active here throughout the winter is the American Crow. Crows are able to stay and endure the Vermont winter because they are very strategic about energy usage and know when to be active and when to lay low. They spend a great deal of time conserving energy that they can use to stay warm instead of expending all of their energy on other activities. The fields are also currently filled with Canada Geese that are returning from their winter migration. Canada Geese typically migrate, but if the winter conditions are mild they can stay through the winter. This means that they are a facultative migrant. When Canada Geese migrate, they typically stay in the Southern U.S. for the winter and then head north to Canada for breeding season. The increasing day length and warmer temperatures signal the birds' migration north.
I did not come across an obligate migrant on this outing, but I imagine that it could be a disadvantage for these species to be back already if we have unpredictable weather. It is not uncommon to have a hard frost or winter storm in April and these species may not be prepared to handle that kind of weather.

Migration Milage:
approximately 4,500 miles!!

Date - April 19, 2021
Start time - 10:00
End time - 11:30
Location - Charlotte, VT
Weather - 55° F, 8 mph wind out of the North, sunny, 80% cloud cover
Habitat - 90% tree cover, forest composed mostly of beech, red maple, cottonwood, and hemlock trees.

Date - April 24, 2021
Start time - 11:00
End time - 12:30
Location - Ferrisburgh, VT
Weather - 49° F, 5 mph wind out of the North, cloudy, 85% cloud cover
Habitat - 90% tree cover, forest composed mostly of beech, red maple, cottonwood, and hemlock trees.

I have been noticing more and more birds spending time in pairs in the last week or so. Many birds perched together or flying around in pairs. The birds in this area have also been very vocal lately which could suggest defending territories. I watched a Northern Cardinal defending its territory. The territory seemed to be a poor area with not much space. This could suggest that this Cardinal is not as fit as the other males in the area. I also watched a House Sparrow who seemed to be scavenging for nest building materials. This bird was picking up string off the ground and then came back by with a clump of hair in its beak. There are many farms in the area that could be a good source of hair/fur for nest lining. I imagine many of the species that I've been seeing will be nesting up high within the overstory of the forest. I have also been keeping an eye on the Bald Eagle nest at the edge of the forest. There has been a lot of activity there lately - typically you can see one of the Eagles sitting on the nest while the other is perched in a large tree not far away.