rwhennes's Journal

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.

On March 22nd, I arrived to one of my classes early and noticed several Cedar Waxwings and American Robins eating red berries off of a few trees just out the window. They mostly ignored each other, though the robins from time to time would chase off the smaller waxwings. Within the individual species, multiple waxwings would sometimes feed from the same branch, and robins were more likely to sit near other robins. The waxwings would also frequently hang upside down or at an odd angle from smaller branches in order to reach berries. There was minimal conflict between individuals of the same species, likely because the berries were relativley plentiful and breeding season is still a few weeks off at least for both species. Most conflict was resolved quickly, with the "aggressor" simply landing very close to a smaller bird and causing the smaller bird to fall off or fly away.

In terms of plummage, both male and female American Robins had their signature red breast. While not as bright as say a Northern Cardinal, it is distinct and unique, and likely used for intraspecific species recognition. Females and immature individuals may be slightly paler, though the contrast is often relativley minor. From my vantage point I wasn't really able to differentiate. Cedar Waxwings likewise have minimal sexual dimorphism, and all the ones I saw had adult plumage. They're easily recognizable by their black eyes and small crest.

Later that evening I came across a group of American Crows roosting together in a tree. There was minimal calling and some individuals came and left but of the lone crows I spotted most of them did touch down in the tree. This leads me to believe that this tree is regularly used or that grouping is determined by one individual seeing where others have already begun to congregate. One in the tree interaction between individuals was minimal.

Mini activity: I didn't manage to find any groups of chickadees, but on the 21st I took a ride on the bike path stopping occasionally to explore wooded areas and look for birds. I heard several chickadees but was only able to spot a few individuals. Of those individuals, one did seem to come a bit closer in response to my "pshh"-ing, though I think it may have just been passing by me on its way to get somewhere else. The sound had no effect on the others.