tormiller's Journal

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

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.

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