tormiller's Journal

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

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.

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 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.

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.

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.