A Couple of Cold Mornings
Sunday, February 9th 9:35 am
Weather: Clear sky and 3° F
Location: urban university campus
The idea was, because of the chill, no forest birds would be foolish enough to come out, so I focused on walking around the urban green spaces of the university, hoping more plump urban birds would be out. There was one.
On the university green, the Downy Woodpecker was identified by sight on a fruiting tree. The female appeared to be foraging, as she continued to peck at the bark of the tree. She, at first, did not offer any effort at flying but spent more time pecking at the tree and turning away from the lens. Small flights between trees was the best I was going to receive but then, done with the batch of trees or tired of amateur photographers, the Downy Woodpecker flew.
The flight of the woodpecker was different than expected. The first thing noticed was the pattern of flapping followed by the wing tucking in for a few seconds. There seemed to be slightly, just a few seconds, more of flapping than tucking. After the flight, the observation of the flight path was made. As the woodpecker flew, the path was horizontally curved as the bird fell in latitude when the wings were tucked and increased when flapping the wings. The reason was not found until in class when Professor Strong noted this was done to minimize profile drag.
It should also be noted a Black-capped Chickadee was heard at the university green. However, the bird simply mocked me as I walked around in circles in the green with my eyes towards the sky and trees. No chickadee was found.
End: 10:39
Saturday, February 15th 8:11
Weather: Clear sky and -2°F
Location: Start in urban campus transition to Trinity woods
After the less than successful walk around the green, I decided to attempt to search for birds among the trees on Trinity campus.
The birds gave me hope as, just a few feet away from my dorm, I heard a flock of Black-capped Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches calling. I saw them fluttering from tree to tree and to the buildings. I stuck to the stand of trees, where most of them were roosting, but the combination of tiny songbird and long needles made picture taking exceedingly difficult. Thankfully, one Black-capped Chickadee was nice enough to grace me with a short flight.
The flight was more linear than the woodpecker. The cause was likely because of the almost continual flapping of the wings. There were periods where the wings were tucked for an extra second. However, the Black-capped Chickadee’s destination was below their starting point so I assume the extra second was to let gravity take over.
Deeper into the woods, there was nothing to be spotted. An American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, and American Robin were heard but none were seen. Again, no picture or slight of flight.
End: 8:52, cut slight short as I was freezing
Ending remarks
Seeing as the results from the urban and forest walk were similar, I believe my walks were sparse in bird numbers because of the temperature or time. However, walking to organic chemistry at 8:30 in the morning, I have seen American Robins, American Crows, Black-capped Chickadees all roosting near Trinity woods, so I heavily suspect it was the temperature. I assume the birds were smart enough to stay home, unlike me. Next walk, I will either plan on a warmer evening or morning.
Not part of the walks, I found a couple dozen crows roosting on trees, cawing and clacking their bills. As many of them were flying from tree to tree, there were many times to observe flight. The crows' flight was still linear like the Black-capped Chickadee, but there was more gliding mixed in with the flapping. I believe the American Crows were able to glide because of their larger wings which appear to have a higher aspect ratio than the Black-capped Chickadee.
To conclude, a bird’s flight seems like a good way to at least narrow down the species which the bird can belong to. The curved flight path of the woodpecker appears to be distinct and could be seen at a distance. The amount of time spent flapping, gliding, or tucking the wings could also be recorded and later compared to narrow down the options. While the flight of the bird may not be unique enough to narrow down to the exact bird, it is a good method for formulating an educated guess of species or type of bird.
