hannahleddy's Journal

Date: May 28, 2021
Start time/ End time: 7:20am-12:30pm
Location: Cold Spring Harbor State Park/ Uplands Farm Sanctuary
Weather: 60º,clear skies, 10mph winds
Habitat: Deciduous Forest, Shrubland, Harbor
Species Sighted: total species: 23

Water:
Great Egret
Canada Goose
Herring Gull

Shrubland/Grassland Area:
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Red-tailed Hawk
Northern Mockingbird
Chipping Sparrow
Killdeer
American Crow
Tree Swallow

Forest:
Warbling Vireo
Gray Catbird
Blue Jay
Red-winged Blackbird
Downy Woodpecker
American Robin
Baltimore Oriole
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Red-eyed Vireo
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow Warbler

Today I went to Cold Spring Harbor State Park in Cold Spring Harbor, NY. This is a large deciduous forest (40 acres) consisting of mainly of sugar maple, red maple, American beech, and various oak species. I was able to see a variety of deciduous species here. Right across from the entrance of the state Park was Cold Spring Harbor where I was able to see some water species and grab a cool picture of a Great Egret.

I ended up walking straight through CSH State Park and arrived at The Uplands Farm Sanctuary which was incredible! This farm had a shrub land/grassland area filled with nesting boxes for Tree Swallow. There were also some more trails that led back around to CSH State Park.

I was able to see a good amount of birds today, but my favorite was seeing a Red-tailed Hawk being chased by some American Crows.

Thank you both so much for such a great course, I was able to see so much of where I live but with a completely different outlook!

Date: May 27, 2021
Start time/ End time: 7:00-12:00
Location: Hempstead Lake State Park
Weather: 70º clear skies, 10mph wind
Habitat: Lake, Small deciduous forest
Species Sighted: 21 total species
Forest:
Black-capped chickadee
Blue Jay
Red-winged Blackbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Baltimore Oriole
American Robin
Northern Cardinal
Gray Catbird
Great Crested Flycatcher
House Sparrow
Song Sparrow
American Redstart
Warbling Vireo
European Starling

Water:
Spotted sandpiper
Osprey
Mallard
Canada Goose
Herring Gull
Great Egret
Fish Crow

Today I went to Hempstead Lake State Park in Hempstead NY, which was a large lake surrounded woods on each side. The lake had a sandy shore and plenty of shallow and deeper areas throughout, and the wooded areas consisted of many deciduous trees and shrubs. This park was interesting because the wooded area was thin (10-20 ft) and surrounded by highways on all sides. I had some issues getting clear recordings because of construction on the highway, but I managed to get some earlier in the morning before the construction started.

There were a good amount of birds here for such a small area. I was able to see a whole lot of water birds (Great Egret, Mallards, Spotted Sandpiper, Mute Swan) and plenty of forest birds as well (Red-bellied Woodpecker, American Redstart, Baltimore Oriole).

I also saw some Painted Turtles and a Yellow Perch!

Date: May 26, 2021
Start time/ End time: 7:00-12:30
Location: Connetquot State Park
Weather: 65º clear skies, 5 mph wind
Habitat: Forested area with lakes and marshes
Species Sighted: 20 total species

Grassy plain/ parking-lot entrance:
House Sparrow
Mourning Dove
Red-Winged Black Bird
Tree Swallow
American Crow
Song Sparrow
European Starling

Forest:
Red-eyed Vireo
Least Flycatcher
Gray Catbird
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-Winged Black Bird
House Sparrow
Northern Cardinal

Lake:
Canada Goose
Herring Gull
Double-crested Cormorant
Osprey
Mute Swan

Toady I went to Connetquot State Park, there was a good mix of habitats here. I entered near a grassy plains and saw some Gray Catbirds, Tree Swallows, and Song Sparrows. I then took a walk by the main lake which was mostly filled with Canada geese and Mute Swans. Then led to a marshy area and into a forested area. I spent the majority of my time in the forested trail areas, there were streams throughout the woods. The forest edge was pretty high which made it hard to spot birds, so I tried to rely on bird songs a lot today.

I really enjoyed the park and ended up seeing two snapping turtles, a box turtle, a muskrat, and tons of rainbow trout. I was also able to spot an Osprey nest high up on a snag, and later saw an Osprey eating a fish.

Date: May 25, 2021
Start time/ End time: 6:45-12:30
Location: Edgewood Oak Brush Plains Preserve
Weather: 65º clear skies, 10mph wind
Habitat: Grassland/ Shrubland
Species Sighted: 22 total species
Red-winged Blackbird
House Sparrow
American Robin
Yellow Warbler
Downy Woodpecker
Mourning Dove
Cedar Waxwing
Gray Catbird
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Black-capped Chickadee
Blue Jay
Oven Bird
Chipping Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Baltimore Oriole
Canada goose
Red-eyed Vireo
American Goldfinch

I really enjoyed Edgewood Oak Brush preserve! There was a large cleared grassland area which I spend my first hour exploring, I saw a lot of Cedar Waxwings, American Robins and Gray Catbirds in the grass. Then I moved over to the shrub-land area of the preserve, I spend a shorter amount of time here because there weren’t any trails so I could only look into the shrubs, but I saw a good amount of species here. Then I went over to he more wooded areas with trails and spent the last few hours exploring.

I used to live a town over from this preserve and never knew about it, so I was super excited to check t out and it didn’t disappoint. I was seeing a lot of hatchlings on yesterdays birding adventure so I was hyping to see some nesting activity, but I didn’t see much, possibly too heavily trafficked by bikers and joggers.

Also there were a ton of rabbits and snakes which was exciting!

Date: May 24, 2021

Start time/ End time: 6:45am-12:30pm

Location: Jones Beach State Park/ Gilgo Beach Marina

Weather: 60º, cloudy skies, 15mph winds

Habitat: Beach
Ocean side: Atlantic Ocean, 15-20 mph winds, sand and dunes
Bay side: Great South Bay, emerging vegetation, marina with wooden docks, nesting boxes

Species Sighted: 23 total species
Herring Gull
Canada Goose
American Robin
Least tern
American crow
Double-crested Cormorant
Purple Martin
Osprey
Common Tern
Common Grackle
European Starling
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Tufted Titmouse
Barn Swallow
Red-winged blackbird
Mallard
Great Blue Heron
Great Black-backed Gull
Killdeer
Chipping Sparrow
Semipalmated Plover
Glossy Ibis

I was able to see osprey nesting out in the marshy areas of the Great South Bay, they were using old wooden dock structures to build their nest on. There were also a good amount of Semipalmated Plover in the protected dune area, about 3-4 groups of about 20 birds each. I was also able to watch a pair of Least Tern in this protected dune area (on the ocean side of Jones Beach). There were also tons of baby Canada Geese, three separate families with 4 babies each.

Date: May 9, 2021
Start time/ End time: 2:00-3:30
Location: University of Vermont
Weather: 60º,clear skies
Habitat: Green areas with trees, heavily trafficked area
Number of individuals: 62
Species: Black-capped Chickadee (7), House Sparrow (2 pair), Red-Tailed Hawk (1), European Starling (pairs and individuals 39), Mourning Dove (1), Ring-Billed Gull (2 individuals), Rock Pigeon (2 pair), American Robin (8)

Date: May 8, 2021
Start time/ End time: 9:00-11:00
Location: Gilbrook Natural Area, Winooski VT
Weather: 50º,cloudy skies
Habitat: Forest with two small ponds and wetland areas
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 (2), American Crow (2)

Date: April 26, 2021
Start time/ End time: 1:00-2:30
Location: Colchester Bog, Colchester VT
Weather: 40º, windy with cloudy skies
Habitat: Forest/Marsh
Number of individuals: 34
Species: Black-capped Chickadee (11), Northern Cardinal (8), American Robin (5),Song Sparrow (6), Downy Woodpecker (2), Tufted Titmouse (2), Canada Goose (2).
Black-capped Chickadees were spotted in small groups of 2-3 or as individuals, All of the Northern Cardinals were individual, American Robins were individuals, Song Sparrows were spotted as a group of 3 and the others as individuals, Downy Woodpecker was spotted as a two individuals, Tufted Titmouse were spotted as a nesting pair. The nest I observed was right along the edge of some deeper wooded areas, so I think I would see some more nesting deeper in the wooded area because it is more covered.

Throughout my observation at Colchester bog, I was able to observe nesting behaviors of Tufted Titmice. The pair seemed to be taking their time to carefully secure their nest in a high up branch in a pine tree, they were packing leaves into the bottom of the nest one by one. The Tufted Titmice were using fallen oak leaves and twigs along with forest debris to build their nest, these materials were found right under the tree they nested in.
Along with nesting behavior, I also noticed territorial behavior. There were several Northern Cardinals (11) throughout the day. All Northern Cardinals that were spotted were males and very very vocal. Every few minutes along my walk I could hear Cardinals singing as I was passing through new territory. The cardinals that had a more open area are considered more fit, because their sound is carried over a greater distance. This would allow a Cardinal to defend their territory better and be further away from neighbor Cardinals.

Mini Activity
As I sat in the center of a circle, I heard Cardinals in every direction, Black-caopped Chickadees to the left and right of my location in some shorter trees. I also heard Canada Geese flying overhead near the top-left portion of the circle.

Date: April 19, 2021
Start time/ End time: 1:00-3:00
Location: Colchester Bog, Colchester VT
Weather: 55º, Clear sunny skies
Habitat: Forest/Marsh
Number of individuals: 28
Species: Black-capped Chickadee (6), Northern Cardinal (8), American Robin (2), Canada Goose (2),Song Sparrow (3), Downy Woodpecker (3), Tufted Titmouse (4)

Black-capped Chickadees were in 2 groups of 3, All of the Northern Cardinals were individual, American Robins were individuals, Canada goose were spotted in a pair, Song Sparrows were spotted as a group of 3, Downy Woodpecker were spotted as a pair and later one individual, all Tufted Titmice were spotted alone.

Date – April 5, 2021
Start time – 12:30 pm
End time – 3:00 pm
Location – Leddy Beach
Weather – 50 degrees, windy, clear skies, sunny
Habitat(s) – Beach, lake front

This week I was able to get to Leddy Beach for some birding. I have really enjoyed birding around campus but it was a nice change to go near a body of water. This week I observed many Ring-billed Gulls, and I was able to sit and watch for a while. I spotted about 30 separate individual Ring-billed Gulls, all flying and wandering the beach. They were most likely in search of food, or possibly just wandering around their home.

Some of the most common year round residents I have been able to observe are Northern Cardinals. I have seen these birds mostly alone, and often seeming to be defending their habitats. These birds are able to stay warm with their dry insulated feathers. Another bird I have spotted that is a year round resident is the pileated woodpecker. These birds have warm feathers as well as cavity nests, which allows them to stay out of the wind and snowy conditions of a Vermont winter.

A migrant that may be arriving in Vermont is the tree swallow. These birds migrate to the southern United States and Mexico and are among the first birds to come back north after winter. Tree swallows begin migrating south in July and August. The populations seen in Vermont most likely migrate along the Atlantic coast to winter in Florida and Central America. This migration is triggered by warming temperatures.

A disadvantage of an obligate migrant is that their migration is “hardwired” which does not allow for the birds to adjust to climate changes. A disadvantage to arriving in Vermont in early April is the unpredictable weather; today it is 50º but this weekend it was snowing.

I also spotted several European Starlings (5) American Robin (5) and a handful of American Crows (2 or 3)!

Mini Activity
Ring-billed Gull~2000mi
Northern Cardinal ~0mi
European Starling~0mi
American Robin~0mi
American Crow ~0mi