meghanmurphy's Journal

This week’s birding excursion took place at Shelburne Bay Park on Sunday, March 2nd. Two other people were present, one of whom was Kayley Dillon, a friend in this class. Our observations will be the same, but all additional work was completed independently. The excursion began at 10:05am, and there was very little wind, quite an overcast sky, and a light snow at start of hike that quickly stopped. The temperature ranged between 30-40°F. The first portion of the hike was made up of mixed forest, consisting of shagbark hickory, bitternut hickory, ironwood, Eastern white pine, Northern white-cedar (usually dead), and possibly American elm. We heard and eventually saw a Black-capped chickadee at the entrance, and heard American Crows calling. After walking for about five or ten minutes, we heard a White-breasted Nuthatch and attempted to pursue it for about fifteen minutes, eventually attempting to attract its attention by pishing. It eventually flew overhead and landed deeper in the forest across the trail, out of sight. We saw an American Crow fly overhead, and pishing brought in three Black-capped Chickadees. We were able to hear the call of a Brown Creeper, though we could not see it.

Further hiking brought us to an area in which one side of trail was bordered by trees and opened into a field with grazing cows, and the other side still contained dense forest. We heard a Tufted Titmouse but did not see it. We saw five birds in a tree in the field who were flushed across the trail by a large flock of about 75 European Starlings, who took over the tree. The five birds who were flushed landed close to the trail edge, and we were able to confirm that they were Eastern Bluebirds. Seven Black-capped Chickadees were also on the trail edge, perching low in bushes, and a few foraged along the ground.

We continued along the trail, and this eventually brought us back into dense forest that contained shrubbier species such as elderberry and common buckthorn. We were able to hear an American Robin, a Northern Cardinal, and several Black-capped Chickadees, though we did not see them. We eventually saw two Black-capped Chickadees near the end of the trail flying in their undulating fashion overhead and landing in a tree. We reached the end of the trail and concluded our excursion at about 12:05pm. Despite numerous woodpecker sign in the form of tree cavities, we only heard potential tapping on three different occasions, and we did not see any of the birds. We were also surprised that there were no signs of Blue Jays at any point. One possible reason for this was that we embarked later in the morning and came across several people and their dogs, so it is possible that this disturbance drove many of the birds to regions of the forest that were away from the main trail.

Winter Ecology
Most of the smaller birds like the Black-capped Chickadees were very puffy, fluffing out their feathers to retain body heat. We saw multiple Black-capped Chickadees foraging among bushes in the second part of the trail, likely looking for small seeds and possibly coming across an occasional small insect. In summer or spring, Black-capped Chickadees would be foraging primarily for small insects. Insects would be more active in the warmer weather and provide protein and energy for the birds. The fact that we failed to see certain species that we expected to see such as woodpeckers and Blue Jays could mean that these species were budgeting their time by resting. Overnight, species on this property most likely take advantage of the numerous tree cavities. Tapping on several of these trees produced no mammalian wildlife sightings, meaning that many of these cavities are unoccupied by mammals and are available for birds to spend the night in.

Snag Mini Activity
There was one small snag near the entrance with no cavities, and another small, thin snag that contained about 15 small round and oval cavities. About ten minutes into the trail, there was another small snag that contained no cavities. A medium sized Eastern white pine (EWP) snag contained two large, rectangular cavities and an additional tall, wide EWP snag contained seven large circular holes. A tall EWP snag had large circular and oval holes. We knocked, but no wildlife came to investigate. We came across a short snag with lots of circular cavities before finding a large Northern white-cedar (NWC) snag with no cavities. This was followed by a tall snag with very few small, circular cavities. A short snag with a big rectangular cavity and smaller, circular ones contained no wildlife when we knocked.

A tall snag with two large, rectangular cavities contained only cobwebs and no spiders large enough that felt it necessary to investigate after we knocked. A large NWC snag with one large, rectangular cavity followed this one. We came across a medium sized, very rotted snag that was covered in huge cavities. A tall, thin snag with very few circular cavities followed. The next was tall with large cavities near the base, and smaller cavities in middle. We knocked, but it produced no wildlife. The final snag was large with shallow circular and rectangular cavities, and it was very rotted. Despite coming across many dead Northern white-cedars, only two had cavities. We theorized that the stringy bark made it difficult to drill into, or perhaps this tree species did not attract palatable prey.

Although none of our disturbances produced any wildlife sightings, snags still provide an important source of shelter for birds, mammals, and invertebrates. In the case of birds like Eastern Bluebirds and Black-capped Chickadees and mammals such as Pine Martens and Gray Squirrels, snags with cavities can provide a warm place to spend the night or overwinter, and some species utilize these cavities to raise young. The abundance of grubs that can be found in the rotting wood provides an important food source for animals such as Pileated Woodpeckers. Snags can also provide nesting sites for birds such as Osprey, and perching sites for numerous species such as hawks.

Burlington Intervale (3/24/19)- Field Notes

This week’s birding excursion took place at the Burlington Intervale Calkins trail on Sunday, March 24th. One other person, Kayley Dillon, was present as well, so our observations are the same, but all additional work will be completed independently. There was very little wind, with a sunny and clear sky, and the temperature ranged between the high 30s-40°F. We began our birding excursion at 9:22am. The majority of the trail that we traveled on was forested with riparian tree species such as Eastern cottonwood, ash trees and silver maples, and the Winooski River flowed close to the trail. Near the start of the trail, we were able to hear and observe a White-breasted Nuthatch, two American Crows, and a Northern Cardinal. We moved closer to the water to observe a flock of Mallards and were treated with a sighting of a Brown Creeper working its way up a large forked tree. Two sparrows that we later determined to be Song Sparrows landed in a nearby bush. There was a drumming sound behind us soon afterwards, and there was a Hairy Woodpecker working steadily away at a medium-sized snag. It was at this point that my phone, in a display of bitterness against the cold weather, powered completely down and took with it my only means of taking pictures for the remainder of the excursion.
There were multiple Mallards that flew overhead, usually either in pairs or by themselves. About four different pairs of Canada Geese were paddling in the river, and a large flock of about 20 individuals flew overhead. There was a large flock of both Mallards and Canada Geese near the shore across the river, with several Mallards resting on a fallen tree in the water. A loud call brought our attention to farther into the woods, and we were able to see the largest Hairy Woodpecker that I have personally ever come across. It was joined by two other Hairy Woodpeckers with two going to the same tree, and one occupying a different tree. A Downy Woodpecker was sighted not too far from this area. We saw a male Northern Cardinal land in a bush and heard another one close to us. An attempt at pishing attracted three Black-capped Chickadees to a nearby tree.
At this point, we crossed to a different trail that led us to an open field flanked by forest and that would eventually lead to a road. In the field there were about eight American Robins foraging and wandering to the middle of the trail. They were accompanied by about three different sparrows of which we could not confidently identify the species. These sparrows soon flew into dense bushes and foraged in this area. A male American Goldfinch in his brilliant breeding plumage perched proudly on a tall sapling and chirped his song, remaining for a few minutes before flying to the trees towards the end of the trail. A few more White-breasted Nuthatches were sighted in the forest along the field. We were able to see three more Hairy Woodpeckers on this portion of the trail, and three additional Downy Woodpeckers. As we were making our way across the road, our attention was diverted by the raucous cawing of five American Crows. We soon learned the cause of their alarm when they flushed a Red-tailed Hawk from its perch and drove it to a tree branch directly above us. They landed in the tree with the hawk and continued to “yell” at it. We observed for several minutes before heading back to the car, seeing one more American Crow joining the flock before ending our very successful excursion at 11:07am.

Social Behavior and Phenology
The Mallards that we observed in flocks in the water were composed of males and females. In the first group, there was a male and two females wading farther away from the larger group. When another male approached, the first male began quacking loudly and flapped his wings vigorously. The other male quietly retreated away from the three others in response. This combination of audio and visual display was clearly meant as a warning to the other male not to approach his females. Another brief aggressive display took place on the portion of the trail near the field between two Downy Woodpeckers. One individual was on a relatively large tree and the other was close by but on a separate tree. When the second woodpecker flew to the other occupied tree, it landed quite close to the first bird. This bird responded by fluffing out the bright red cap on its head and fluttering towards the newcomer, to which it responded by quickly retreating across the trail to another patch of forest. This visual display served as a warning that the bird was not willing to share its space. A final aggressive display took place between two different species, when five American Crows flushed a Red-tailed Hawk to a different tree. They surrounded the hawk when it landed and cawed loudly and continuously, clearly displeased with its presence and “encouraging” it to leave. The hawk was fluffed out, perhaps attempting to look larger and dissuade any more provocation, though it did not cry out or flap its wings while we were watching it.
One of the species we observed was a male Northern Cardinal, its bright red plumage visible even through the dense bush it was perched in. Another equally bright species was a male American Goldfinch. The bright red of the Cardinal and the vibrant gold of the Goldfinch are both factors in attracting attention from potential mates. However, while the Northern Cardinal retains its vibrancy throughout winter, the American Goldfinch develops a drabber winter plumage. Although the darker coat makes the American Goldfinch less conspicuous to predators, the Northern Cardinal is visible to potential mates year-round, and this is advantageous for their sometimes-early breeding season of February.
One of the Canada Geese that we observed was resting on the bank along the river. This fits into the context of its circannual rhythm of migration, as the flight these birds must make requires periods of rest to maintain the energy they will need to complete the journey.

Pishing Mini Activity
There are a few different theories as to why pishing works to attract small birds such as Black-capped Chickadees. One idea is that the whispering noise resembles a bird that is anxious, prompting other birds to survey the potential threat and investigate the individual in trouble. It is also possible that the pishing noise resembles the alarm call of a squirrel, and small birds fly in to investigate the source of the disturbance.