Field Journal 7

Date - 4/25/21
Start time - 2:30 pm
End time - 5:00 pm
Location - Burlington Country Club
Weather - 57℉, cloudy, 4 mph SW wind
Habitat - suburban, rural
When it comes to mate selection, I heard a lot of songs between birds that were the birds trying to communicate with their mates or trying to entice another bird to be its mate. While I was out birding I also heard more songs and calls from birds than I had heard on previous trips which I think was due to more birds migrating north and trying to settle somewhere that another bird has already claimed as its territory leading to the birds trying to scare each other off or fighting to determine who gets the territory. I didn’t see any birds posturing to each other or trying to show off their plumage to entice a mate. But I did see a few American Crows working together to harass a Red-tailed Hawk, however I’m not sure whether or not that had to do with territory or food. I didn’t see any nests while I was out birding but I think some of the birds I saw such as the American Robin or Northern Cardinal would nest in short trees or in large bushes. Others like the Red-tailed Hawk or American Crow I think would nest in larger trees with the hawks deciding to nest more toward the top of the tree for easy flight in and out of the trees.
A bird I found that may have been defending a territory was a Black-capped Chickadee that seemed to have a prime territory but not the best because it was in a large bush near a small area of woods but it was just off campus near a walking path and near a person’s house. This may indicate the bird’s fitness is pretty high because it has either been able to defend this territory from others that want to come take it or the Chickadee was able to win the territory from its prior inhabitant.
When it comes to the nests themselves, I think American Robins use a combination of small twigs in their nest to give it structure and maybe some kind of tall grass to line the inside of the nest so the eggs don’t get damaged when it is time for the female to lay them. It wouldn’t have to go far to find these materials with the amount of trees around campus and small wooded areas that may be dropping sticks and ponds in the area where tall grasses can easily be found.

Posted on April 26, 2021 08:40 PM by akipp