tormiller's Journal

Mill River Falls
May 22, 2020 - 6:38 – 12:33

Weather:
Sunny and clear - 53 degrees Fahrenheit to 75 degrees Fahrenheit

Habitat:
The Mill River Falls has a mixed habitat containing a field, hardwood forest, and mixed hardwood and conifer forest. Most locations had an understory of ferns, sugar maple, honeysuckle, and American beech. The overstory contained Red cedar, Eastern White Pines, Paper birches, Ironwood, and Red Maples. There is a wide river with fish, turtles and birds. The terrain is mostly flat with some small hills.

List of Birds
Mourning doves x2
European Starlings x1
Red-winged Blackbird x4
Male Northern Cardinal x1
Field sparrow x2
Brown-headed Cowbird x1
Black-Capped Chickadee x7
American Robin x10
Male and Female Downy Woodpecker x3
White-breasted Nuthatch x3
Eastern Wood-Pewee x3
Common Yellowthroat x2
Pileated Woodpecker x1
Song Sparrow x2
Ovenbird x2
American Crow x1
Common Grackle x10
Wilson’s Warbler x1
Red-eyed Vireo x3
Male Blue Jay x1
Female Red-bellied Woodpecker x1
Cedar Waxwing x1
Baltimore Oriole x3
Canada Goose x4

• There were many fledglings I did not get to count because the geese were staring at me
  Belted Kingfisher x2
  Green Heron x1
  Osprey x1

The beginning of the trail was a small field near some homes, which would explain the mixed variety of field birds, such as the Red-winged Blackbird, and suburban birds, such as the European Starlings. Also, many of the species found in the field were also found at the river or in the woods right next to the field. The Red-winged Blackbirds were commonly found around the Common Grackles on the shore of the river.

The Cedar Waxwing was found along the river. I first thought the bird was an American robin, but it has a large crest. I was momentarily confused until I heard the call of the Cedar Waxwing. I’m still a bit skeptical of the find, as I might have heard what I wanted to hear, but the bird’s physical appearance matched almost completely with the Cedar Waxwing.

The Wilson’s Warbler is another bird I was surprised to find. I observed a black cap and the mostly yellow body on a small bird, which led me to believe I had found a warbler. The bird also made a call which sounded almost exactly like the Wilson’s Warbler.

I finally followed the advice of following on bird’s call to find others. I understood birds traveled in mixed flocks but did not truly apply the knowledge until now. Finding the birds was much easier when I followed the sound of a song I could recognize. Following a constant noise which I knew the pattern of was much easier than trying to follow all the random noises I could hear.

I would just like to note I would have seen more shorebirds if I could have gotten to the delta, but the four geese and their massive gaggle of goslings were walking down the path and no one messes with Geese with kids. True, I could have gone off path but I don't trust geese to let some trees and brush stop them.

Milton VT

54 degrees Fahrenheit to 66 degrees Fahrenheit
Sunny and clear

Started at North Road – 6:35

Habitat: Vegetation about half a foot-tall containing both grasses and wildflowers. Most of the land was flat with dips of wetland. There were also patches of trees, such as conifer trees where the barn swallows are and trees near the water, where the blue jay was.

The list:
Red-winged Blackbirds x30
Field Sparrow x4
Barn Swallow x5
Blue Jay x1
Canada Goose x1
Brown-headed Cowbird x2
American Robin x9
Mourning Dove x2

The number is no over statement for the Red-winged Blackbirds. While I was waiting for my ride, I spent the time by counting the Red-winged Blackbirds popping up from the large field. The two massive fields were both covered in Red-winged Blackbirds. I felt lucky to have heard the Field Sparrows among the mass of Blackbird calls. I found the Barn Swallows and Blue Jay in a small group of trees in the field. The Brown-headed Cowbird, American Robin, and Mourning Dove were all found in the more Suburban portion of the road. Though, I wonder if the Brown-headed Cowbirds were near the field to sneak some eggs in to Red-winged Blackbirds’ nests.

Moved to Milton Town Forest – 8:40 – 12:10

Habitat: The starting field had mostly tall grass with patches of tall reeds surrounding standing water. There was a small stream cutting through the middle of the field. The forest between the field and the river was mixed conifer and hardwood with Sugar maples, Striped maples, American Beeches, raspberries, Hemlocks, Yellow birch, and Paper birch. The lake was open water but had some tiny rock “islands” and had no reeds/mudflat for the birds to nest. There was also another section of the area which was a forest but only had conifers, mostly Eastern White Pines, with little vegetation. This is where the birds such as the Downy Woodpecker, Winter Wren, and Black-capped Chickadee where found

List of birds
Field
Red-winged blackbird x2
Song sparrow x1
American Robin x3
Red-tailed Hawk x1
Gray Catbird x3
Common Yellowthroat x4

Forest / Lake
Blue Jay x2
Black-and-white Warbler x2
Ovenbird x2
Black-throated Green Warbler x1
White-breasted Nuthatch x2
Wood Thrush x2
Red-eyed Vireo x1
Male Northern Cardinal x1
Winter Wren x1
Downy Woodpecker x1
Black-capped Chickadee x3

Road
European Starling x4

When the diversity of the North road seemed lacking, my aunt suggested the Milton Town Forest, which was a listed option for today. There was a beginning field, so I did get more experience in spotting field birds. A small group of Common Yellowthroat darted around the field, which was entertaining to watch after a minute of painful attempts to identify tiny birds. The Catbird was also another troublesome one in the way of their sounds being quite different than the one I found yesterday. Today, the three found sounded just like kittens mewing for their mother. A very scary experience until I saw the bird picking at sumac before mew-chirping

I was hoping to see some ducks, so I made my way to the lake and to get there had to pass through a patch of forest. The lake was a disappointment as there was no waterbirds at all, so the listing is solely from the forest edge or within the forest. There was a marshy area, but I didn’t find too many birds near, just the black-and-white Warbler nearby.

May 20, 2020 7:00 am – 12:15 pm
Forest Milton VT

Weather: Clear and sunny & 45 degrees Fahrenheit to 70 degrees Fahrenheit

Habitat:
The forest was a mixed hardwood and deciduous forest. There were plenty of American beech, sugar maples, oaks, and some dogwoods. The deciduous trees were largely Eastern White pines with some Eastern Hemlocks. The terrain was very hilly with moist valleys of standing water. Most of the water did not host any wetland or water birds.

On the walk to the forest and at the forest entrance
Canada Goose x2
Eastern Phoebe x1
Blackburnian Warbler x1

Within the woods
Red-eyed Vireo x3
Ovenbird x5
American crow x1
Black-capped Chickadee x3
Great Crested Flycatcher x1
Blue Jay x4
White-breasted Nuthatch x3
Eastern Kingbird x2
Pileated Woodpecker x2
Mourning dove x1
Black-throated Green Warbler x5
American Redstart x1
Red-Breasted Nuthatch x4
Hermit Thrush x2
Northern Cardinal x1
Hairy Woodpecker x1
Wood Thrush x1

When I entered the woods, I tired to challenge myself to sit down and work out all of the calls I could hear. During this, I managed to hear a Red-eyed Vireo, Ovenbirds, a loud American crow, a single Black-capped Chickadee, and a Great Crested Flycatcher. I tried to track as many as I could down but only managed to find the Ovenbird and got distracted from the Great Crested Flycatcher by another bird flying past. After I identified the mystery bird as a Blue Jay, I tried to find the Great Crested Flycatcher but couldn’t hear the song anymore.

I found most of the birds though sound, then tried to find the bird themselves. This was a bit difficult as I could hear multiple calls and then had to decide which ones to follow first, not to mention the additional chorus of chipmunks. I was proud to have found the physical version of the Ovenbird, Hairy Woodpecker, and Blue Jay from their calls.

The Eastern Kingbird pair was found flying between trees under the powerline when I was transitioning from one side to the other. I was happy to hear their call for once. I was expecting them yesterday, so it was a nice surprise to see them today.

Once again, the Blue Jays were antagonizing each other. Usually when I saw a male Blue Jay, there was another male and they would catch each other.

The Northern Cardinal was found after I got lost in the forest. It was odd to hear the call of a Northern Cardinal in the woods until I realized I was next to a neighborhood. I also heard something like a Rose-breasted Grosbeak in the area but wasn’t sure if it was one as the notes where the same, but the number and pitch wasn’t.

6:35 am – 12:30 pm
Large Powerline Milton, VT

Weather: 41 degrees Fahrenheit to 63 degrees Fahrenheit
Sunny and clear skies

Habitat: a shrubland corridor with powerlines overhead and trees to the side. The forest was mixed coniferous and hardwood with pines, eastern hemlocks, oaks, and maples. The shrubland was very hilly and sporadically cut. The land had patches of thorny shrubs and tall grass, but the majority was rocky land with short grass and dirt paths.

List of Birds
Grey Catbird x1
Black-capped Chickadee x3
Great Crested Flycatcher x1
American Robin x2
American Crow x4 (calls)
Barred Owl x1 (calls)
Field Sparrow x2
Song Sparrow x3
Mourning dove x1 (calls)
Woodpecker Downy x1
Baltimore Oriole x1 (Calls)
Eastern Meadowlark x1
Blue Jay x3
Common Yellowthroat x1
Chestnut-sided Warbler x1
White-breasted Nuthatch x1 (Calls)
Indigo Bunting x1 (calls)

This time I attempted to make several stops to listen and attempt to distinguish songs. It was frustrating to try to pick out one to listen to between several songs all going at once. During one session, I realized the non-stop song was likely a Baltimore Oriole’s song as the singular notes were very similar. The Indigo Bunting was a lucky catch on a video when I was trying to get another sound. The Field Sparrows and Song Sparrows were difficult to distinguish but the song sparrow can be considered more “musical” by me.

The “follow a call to the source” did not work too well due to the songs ending too soon as I arrived near the bird. They seemed to very much want to stay in the bush silently and not sing when a human was waiting. The Eastern Meadowlark and Grey Catbird are both birds whose song I followed to the bird. It was quite fun to see the Eastern Meadowlark fly to the stop of a shrub and call out when I approached.

On a happier note, seeing three male Blue Jays landing a few feet apart and hop around each other was quite fun to watch. They followed each other into the trees before long so there wasn’t much more to the encounter observed.

The Common Yellowthroat was found in the same patch of bushes as the Chestnut-sided Warbler. The Chestnut-sided Warbler was found first by the grey tail stuck up in the air serving as a flag. A different, second call alerted me to the presence of the Common Yellowthroat. The yellow belly was easy to find with some song following assistance.

The Barred Owl was a surprise to hear especially since the song was heard two times. I know with the mourning dove also on the list, there may be questions if another Mourning Dove was heard. However, the distinctive second note “h-WOO” was not made by in the bird’s song. Instead the song started with a few “woos” and ended with two “h-woo”. Also, the cadence was incorrect for a Mourning dove’s song as the later notes did not stretch out.

May 18, 2020
7:10 am – 12:20 pm

Sand bar state park
Weather: Overcast and windy became clear skies around 10:20
Started at 52 degrees Fahrenheit but ended at 64 degrees Fahrenheit

Habitat
Sand bar state park has variety of habitats with a sandy bank, large open areas of water, and small fragments of fields and swamps and with trees. The body of water is large and unbroken. The swamp has tall reeds and some trees but not a lot of time was spent in the area as there where two geese and a swimming snake occupying the area. The sand banks were unbroken and usually did not contain large rocks. The field was short grass spotted with trees. The trees ranged from Eastern Cottonwood, cherries, wild grape, raspberries, red maples crossed with silver maple, and an abundance of ash.

List of birds

On the road
Osprey nest on the telephone with two ospreys
turkey vulture x1
mourning dove x1
Most of the birds remained off the road via nests, ospreys; flight, turkey vulture; or telephone line, mourning dove. The turkey vulture appeared to be following the road, likely for food. Mourning doves were watching the traffic and singing. The Ospreys were tending to their nest and one was found flying over me later, most likely getting food for their mate.

Sandy bank
spotted sandpipers x2
The spotted sandpipers were running along the shore with their tails bobbing up and down. They seemed to be pecking at the sand in search for food while running from humans and other birds.

Water
male mallards x3
common loon x1
Canada Goose x7

• One pair and a group of five
  herring gull x6
  double-crested cormorant x2
  The common loon, mallards, and pair of Canada geese were sitting on the water with no diving or dipping under the surface of the water. I later found the Canada geese pair in the swamp area so they may have been finding a place to nest or returning to nest. The herring gulls and double-crested cormorants were all flying above the water with dips towards the water. These species seemed to spend most of their time in the air rather than swimming on top of the water. Since double-crested cormorants dive for their food, they would not sit at the water but take the extra speed of diving from the air.

Open area with hardwood trees
Common grackle x10
American robin x5
Yellow-rumped Warbler x10
Female Downy Woodpecker x1
The birds in the open areas flitted from tree to ground very quickly. Their diet is nearly identical and so more aggressive actions to protect territory was expected to be seen. Instead, the species seemed to remain separate and did not interact much if at all. With mosquito season starting, there might be enough prey for disputes to not commonly occur.

Reeds
Great blue heron x1
Red-winged blackbirds x15
The Great Blue Heron was found in the reeds but did not care for company and quickly left when someone approached for an insider scoop.
The red-winged blackbirds were found in other locations besides the reeds, naming in open areas with hardwood trees and on the sandy bank. However, they were placed in the reeds category as this is where they faced the least competition, observed at the time, from other birds and spent the most time. On the sandy bank, a few antagonistic encounters involving chasing were observed between the red-winged blackbirds and the common grackles as they share a common food and value the territory quality in mate selection.

Milton, VT
5 / 1 / 2020 // 1:25 - 3:15
Patches of clouds and warm, 63 F

Habitat: An open, mowed yard with an apple tree and large maple tree. The yard is regularly occupied by children and domestic chickens. Today, there was a picnic located in the middle of the yard. The Pileated Woodpecker was found on a pine tree near the driveway and flew deeper into the wetland once disturbed. Male American Goldfinch flew between trees in the wetland. An Eastern Phoebe, House Finch, and American Crows all heard when eating outside.

Birds:
Pileated woodpecker
American Goldfinch
Eastern Phoebe
House Finch
American Crow x2

Cambridge Pines, VT
4 / 17 / 2020 // 12:25am - 2:40pm
37 F Snow showers and cloudy skies

Habitat: An open field with small trees lining the edge with some flowering. This is where one American robin, a couple Black-capped chickadees, and Eastern Phoebe were flying across the field with short stops. Then, deeper into an old-growth forest, there were steep inclines with both pines and Eastern Hemlocks. At the bottom, there was a small river with birches, apple trees, Alternate-leaf dogwood and raspberries. There was little foliage on the ground.

Birds:
American robins x3
Black-capped Chickadees x2
White-breasted nuthatch
Eastern Phoebe

Milton, VT
4 / 20 / 2020 // 12:04pm - 12:40pm
41 F Clear and sunny

Habitat: An open, mowed yard with an apple tree and large maple tree. The yard is regularly occupied by children and domestic chickens. The American goldfinches and Black-capped chickadees appear to have been calling from under the powerline where the shorter trees are. The White-breasted nuthatch, Northern cardinal, American crow, and Black-capped chickadees appear to have been calling from the pines and oaks of the wetland. The Eastern phoebe and Mourning doves were calling from the neighbor’s lawn spotted with pines and separated by red cedar.

Birds:
Domesticated chickens x5
American goldfinches >1
Black-capped chickadees >1
American crow x2
Northern cardinal
White-breasted nuthatch
Mourning doves x5
Eastern phoebe

The Mourning doves were likely nesting in the nesting boxes next to feeders as they were walking around a yard with those accessories. There were as many as five and no competition was present, though they flew off into the trees before I could observe more closely.

In Milton, a pair of American crows are nesting towards the top of a tall Eastern white pine. This may be because there is a source of chicken hay nearby as well as many human provided sources of food. The poor rooster has been consistently distressed by the flying thieves stealing his hay and has almost been lost to the woods after chasing the intruders. But as their nest grows larger, there also appears to be sticks of various shapes and sizes added to the nest. The nest appears to be a cup shape with twigs making up a bulk of the building material with hay probability lining the inside.

In the old growth forest, the robins were likely nesting in a tree as near as possible to the river. This would be an ideal location to both get mud for the nest and have a good source of food when the insects spawn.

Nearly all of the birds identified were singing or calling, except for the fighting American robins. The Black-capped chickadees were a mix of warning calls and mate singing. The American goldfinches seemed to be all clustered in a section of low trees, maybe finding and selecting mates while defending territory rights.

Two American robins were chasing each other around the forest near the river and American crows were mobbing hawks and one was later spotted on a tree, keeping a watch out. The American crows were likely defending their territory as they had a nest in the vicinity and didn’t want hawks, who might eat the eggs, moving in the next tree. The American robins were displaying interspecies defense of territory or perhaps fighting for mate selection or nest location. The purpose remained unclear as they disappeared into the pines.

However, if one was asked to guess, the American robins were likely chasing each other because the area was an ideal location for them to nest and raise young. As stated before, there was a river near which could provide both the nesting material and the food for the hatchlings. To be defending such a prime territory choice, these birds had a higher level of fitness than most because most birds would like to have the territory.

Mini Activity- Sound Map: Here

4 / 15 / 2020
10:44 - 12:15
Weather: clear and sunny; 43 F

Birds:
House sparrow
Blue jay
Possible hawk

Habitat: A forested wetland with Eastern hemlocks, pines, oaks, speckled alder, staghorn sumacs, American beech, and yellow birch. There are steep inclines with most of the conifers but a flat area at the bottom which contains moist soil and lots of cattails and reeds.

Today, the birds are quiet and the first 30 minutes are spent walking around without any hint of feather or wing. I was lucky to spot and then hear a house sparrow. When I reached for my camera, I discovered the battery was dead. There was no way the iphone's camera was going to catch the tiny brown bird from the distance I was at. When I stepped closer, it flew deep into the reeds.

In a last ditch effort, I played mobbing noises on my phone. A lot of birds got angry, the loudest were the chickadees. I was hoping to get birds closer but most seemed happy screaming from a distance. However, a hawk, or some other large bird, perched on a branch nearby. It was a brown blob from the distance I was at. I managed to get a couple steps in before the bird flew away. A combination of bad eyesight and trees made it impossible to identify the hawk or other large bird.

This wasn't the best trip.

First session
4 / 6 / 2020
11:30am - 12:40pm / 6:20pm – 7:19pm
Weather: Clear and sunny; 55 F
Birds:
1 Blue jay
1 Northern cardinal
2 Downy woodpeckers
3 Black-capped chickadees

Habitat: An open, mowed yard with an apple tree and large maple tree. The yard is regularly occupied by children and domestic chickens. The male and female downy woodpeckers were found to be entering cavities in the large maple. The Black-capped chickadees were near the chicken coop, maybe thinking about stealing hay. The male Northern cardinal and male Blue jay were perched on and flying between the smaller maples and lilacs and were having an agnostic encounter with each other.

Second session
4 / 8 / 2020
10:39am – 11:21am; 52 F
Weather: Clear and sunny
Birds:
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 Black-capped chickadee
1 Red-winged blackbird
1 American goldfinch

Habitat: A forested wetland with Eastern hemlocks, pines, oaks, speckled alder, staghorn sumacs, American beech, and yellow birch. There are steep inclines with most of the conifers but a flat area at the bottom which contains moist soil and lots of cattails and reeds. The Eastern phoebe was heard, but not spotted. The Black-capped chickadee and male American goldfinch were both seen darting to and from the speckled alders, yellow birches, and American beeches while singing. The red-winged blackbird was heard in the reeds and cattails but not seen. The Eastern phoebe was seen on the walk back up one of the inclines in a deciduous tree. All the birds were singing and flying rapidly around. I feel lucky to have caught so many in pictures.

From the selection of species observed, the Black-capped chickadee, Blue jay, Northern cardinal, American goldfinch, and the two Downy woodpeckers all remain in Vermont for the winter. They likely cannot undergo the migration due to a lack of food to build up fat stores or don’t have the instinct. During the winter, these species are known to visit bird feeders, which would keep them full if they could not find their usual food. They are also known, especially Blue jays and Black-capped chickadees, to store food in cavities and holes for the winter to eat later when food stores are low. To keep warm, these species nest in tree cavities and have insulating feathers to keep the cold out. The insulated feathers and cavity nesting is more common in species overwintering in cold regions. Black-capped chickadees have also been observed undergoing regulated hypothermia which would help maintain a healthy temperature while sleeping [1].

One of the first calls heard was the Eastern phoebe’s signature “Phoe-be”. I was excited to see the flycatcher but couldn’t spot the bird anywhere. Then, by luck, I managed to see and capture a picture of the bird later. The Eastern phoebe likely came from the Southeastern United States, which is it’s wintering range, as a bird flying from Mexico might be in the states later. Since the area of Vermont is within the bird’s breeding range, the Eastern Phoebe is likely finding a mate or making a nest. Since the birds are flycatchers and bugs are their main diet, they likely flew north as the bugs grew more active in the northern United States. Over the last few days, there have been more bugs flying around the house, so it is likely the Eastern Phoebe arrived with the active bugs waking.

Again, the red-winged blackbird provided me with their song but remained hidden. The same call was heard last week, so this could be the same bird. If it is the same bird, it is less likely the bird has migrated. Technically, the area of Vermont is not in the full-time resident zone for the bird, but across Lake Champlain is the full-time resident zone. Since the zone is so close, this could have been a bird which over-wintered in Vermont, but the species is known to migrate up to 800 miles. So, once the warm weather came, the bird could have flown from New York to Vermont for a better breeding ground with no other red-winged blackbirds present.

Early arrival is advantageous due to timing. The birds arriving first will have the first pick of breeding grounds and feeding sites. However, there can be snowstorms or a sudden frost which may leave the bird without a nest or food. In short, early arrival is a gamble which can provide advantages for the breeding season or starve/freeze the bird.

Total miles to Milton, VT
Black-capped chickadee – 0 miles
Northern cardinal – 0 miles
Blue jay – 0 miles
2 Downy woodpecker – 0 miles
American goldfinch – 0 miles
Eastern phoebe [from Georgia] – 956 miles
Red-winged blackbird [from the west bank of Lake Champlain] -17 miles

Total: 965 miles

[1] How Chickadees Weather Winter

March 21st 10:24
Temp: 43 F and cloudy/chilly
Habitat: forested wetland in Milton, VT

The trip was more impromptu as I was brought out by the sound of Black-capped chickadees calling to each other. The Black-capped chickadees must have formed a small flock as many calls were happening at once. As I walked through the forest, I continuously made a “pish” sound in hopes to attract some to my location. Luckily, one landed on a nearby tree and watched me for a couple of seconds. Determined to not be a threat, as no “Chicka-dee-dee-dee” warning was made and the crest of the chickadee remained flat, the chickadee flew away and the calls of “cheeseburger” started again. Because a singular bird came and returned to the flock quickly, I believe the chickadee came because it was curious after hearing the spishing noise and the chorus of noises after was the chickadee reporting back.

After the chickadee left, I was alone for a long period of time. I heard a Common grackle, an American crow and a Red-winged blackbird. After many minutes of trying to find the redwing blackbird, I couldn’t find the feather nor wing of the mysterious bird. However, I did recognize the call as a song which could be used to attract mates. But I only heard one call so I doubt the bird was going to find a match.

During the search, a pair of Canada geese flew overheard while honking. The honking was likely to encourage the geese to keep flying and to stay together. Since there are no distinguishing patterns between males and females in Canada geese, I could only guess they were a mated pair looking for a place to nest or settle as the time of year was correct. This would be inline with their circannual cycle as breeding is an activity birds do at 12 month intervals, rather than within a 23 hour cycle, and when days grow longer. As daylight saving time occurred recently, which signaled the days growing longer, the growing days could have signaled the geese to fly north to look for a place to nest with their pair.

The Black-capped Chickadee and the Canada goose appear to have similar head patterns, but I believe the purpose behind these patterns are very different. The Black-capped Chickadee’s pattern on the head is to accentuate the bill as the white and back pattern create lines to show off the bill. The bill being the noticeable part of their body will help them defend their territory without having to physically fight as they have a chance to intimidate their opponents. The goose has the same colors on the head but the white is not connected to the bill and the bill gets lost in the black color. Instead, the white is in the “cheeks” of the bird and the pattern appears to stand out more, making it appear to be a bold pattern. As Canada geese choose a mate for life and do not have to defend their mate for rights of mating every season to avoid losing the right, they have to focus less on the bill and more on standing out so they can get chosen for mating.

List of birds:
Black-capped chickadee
Seen one but heard many more
2 Canada geese
Common grackle
American crow
Red-winged blackbird