tjkeegan's Journal

Species List
Downy Woodpecker - 2 individuals
Hairy Woodpecker - 1 individual
Black-capped Chickadee - 6 individuals
Brown Creeper - 1 individual
Northern Cardinal (heard call only) - 1 individual

Excursion Details
Date: 2/21/21
Time: 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Location: Centennial Woods
Weather: Mostly sunny, 28° F
Habitat: Conifer and Hardwood stands

Journal Entry
During my birding trip, I initially had trouble finding birds. I walked through most of Centennial only having found one Black-capped Chickadee and one Hairy Woodpecker. I wondered what the low amount of birds could have been due to, and I thought of many possibilities. For one, I could have been looking in areas where birds tended to avoid. It was a nice day out and I was walking along trails that were populated by lots of dog walkers and other pedestrians, so I thought maybe some of the birds had entered more secluded areas. I considered that the time of day may have also impacted the number of active birds, and I would be interested to do some research about the times when different species are most active within Centennial. I also wondered if the weather might have had an impact, though this didn't seem likely considering there were no conditions that were out of the ordinary.
I continued through the woods, making an effort to venture into less-travelled areas to see if I could find more birds where there were less people. Upon nearing the end of the woods closest to the parking lot behind the DoubleTree Hotel, I began to hear the sounds of multiple different bird calls, as well as the sounds of other woodpeckers. The calls that stood out the most were those of the Black-capped Chickadee. It took me a couple of minutes to actually see the individuals, but when I finally did, I noticed about 5 Black-capped Chickadees on the outskirts of the woods. These Chickadees were residing in a mixture of pine trees and smaller hardwoods, and it was hard to keep track of how many there were because they were all not only in relatively close proximity, but were also quickly flying around from branch to branch. I noticed that these Chickadees rarely made long flights, and instead would use quick flutters of their wings to propel them onto nearby branches, repeating the process after a few brief moments on each branch. After observing these Chickadees, I re-entered the woods and began walking back the way I came from. I heard a Northern Cardinal that I was sadly unable to spot, but I was able to find two Downy Woodpeckers. The Downy Woodpeckers flew with quick beats of their wings, and similar to the Black-capped Chickadees, seemed to be mostly reliant on short, fast flights between branches. The woodpeckers, however, seemed more comfortable venturing on further flights, as one of the Downy Woodpeckers I was observing flew off into the distance and I lost sight of it before it landed on another tree. This did not occur when I was observing the Chickadees, as they all stayed in relatively the same area throughout the time I observed them.
The similar flight patterns of the Black-capped Chickadee and the Downy Woodpecker are interesting to me, and I wonder if these similarities have to do with the similar niches they occupy in ecosystems. Both species are cavity nesters and both species have diets that revolve heavily around insects, so maybe this type of flight pattern is well suited for these aspects of their lives. I noticed while observing the species that both of them seemed to have similar wing shapes, which surely is related to both their niches and their flight patterns, and it is interesting to see how these things all intersect. I feel that understanding flight patterns of different bird species can be hugely helpful for identification, especially when birds are moving too quickly or are too far away for an identification based solely on appearance.