Field Observation 2: Ecological Physiology

Back on February 28 the weather was nice so I decided to ride my bike from Oakridge Park to the Causeway. This journal is based on notes I took on that day. I started my ride at around noon and got home at around 3:30 pm. There was still a good deal of snow but the weather was sunny and the tempurature was in the mid 50s. Before beginning my ride I walked around the wooded areas of Oakridge Park to see if I could find any birds and investigate dead snags. I didn't end up seeing many birds in the park other than a few house sparrows and one blue jay, and drumming on snags didn't reveal any hidden birds. I spotted several squirrel nests but was unable to identify any bird nests.

Over the course of my ride I heard calls from blue jays, northern cardinals, house finches, house sparrows and robins. The trip became really interesting though once I made it to the Causeway. Riding out over the lake I ran into a friend who was out with a bird watching group, and she pointed out a snowy owl resting on the ice on the eastern side of the causeway, and lent me her binoculars. It had its feathers puffed up for warmth but was sadly too far away to get a good picture of. I also saw a large flock of common goldeneyes floating about 40 ft off the west side of the causeway near a sandy shore. It's interesting to note that the lake to the west of the Causeway was mostly melted, while the east side was still mostly covered in a layer of ice. The goldeneyes floated and dove where the ice had melted, while the snowy owl peered around and rested on the frozen portion of the lake.

By the time I was heading back the sun had started to set and it was getting a good deal cooler. I came off the Causeway and into a portion of path surrounded by woodland to the west and a frozen swamp to the east. Here I came across 3 American robins. They sang to one another and seemed to be a cohesive group, never straying to far apart as they moved from tree to tree down the path, avoiding me.

Posted on March 16, 2018 07:06 PM by rwhennes