A weekend of Birds

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

Posted on April 22, 2020 05:12 PM by tormiller