Journal 2 Ecological Physiology

My walk started at 10 AM on March 1st and walked through Burlington neighborhoods, first starting outside of Waterman in the open green. It was 19 degrees F and mostly overcast in the beginning. At first looking up into a fruit tree next to the sidewalk there where 3 American Robins resting in the tree just waking up for the day. They were puffed up a little to conserve heat. Over the course of 10 minutes while standing and observing them they started to be more active and slowly moved to different areas of the tree to feed (feeding on fruit because the ground was covered in snow and worms aren't an available food source). They also started to become more vocal and made more chipping sounds communicating to each other, as they started to warm up. Once they were more awake after being more active they flew off and out of the tree. This behavior could be common in winter as the puffed up feathers conserves heat and if their bodies are colder from the night they could take a little bit of time to wake up, warm up their body temperature and become more active.
When walking away from the fruit tree there were about 5 crows and one raven being very active and vocal, flying over the Waterman green. These birds may have differing behaviors because they are bigger birds. Smaller birds, like the American Robin, have a larger surface area to mass and as a result they loss body heat faster. The crows are able to be more active earlier in the morning of cold winter days because of their ability to retain heat better.
In a different area by a school their was a fence lined with thick coverings of vines and a flock of House Sparrows were hanging out there. The sun had started to come out and was shining on the fence. The fence was also near a building that provided shielding from the wind. The sparrows were active in the warmth and also very social because they found a good spot where they didn't have to prioritize body temperature maintenance. For it still being pretty early in the morning this was a perfect spot for the flock of house sparrows that provided a little extra warmth as well as a long area for moment and thick coverage for protection. Later on the walk there was a male and a female Cardinal sitting in a tree and they were being very vocal. At this time of year they were most likely a pair but are not breeding or nest building yet. And across the street in a small tree shielded on either side by a house and a fence was a male House Sparrow actively singing and calling. This man may have thought that he found a good place and was using his time and energy to defend the territory and to possibly attract a mate. Finally towards the end of our walk back to campus there was a bird feeder with chickadees and American Goldfinches feeding on the seeds. As food can be a hard resource to come by in winter months this provided a source of food for the birds and they were able to spend their time efficiently feeding and not expending too much energy to forage and find different food sources.
Wandering into a small forest section behind a playground that merged into backyards there were plenty of snags but after walking around no birds were found. Overall the birds in the cold, especially at night and in the early morning like to find sheltered and sunny places to stay to stay warm. Birds will also puff up their feathers to trap more body heat and for smaller birds this could be extra beneficiary in cold temperatures.
The bird total (in sightings) for the trip was:
American Robin(3), House Sparrows(25-35), Crows(15), Raven(1), American Goldfinch(1), Chickadees(10), Cardinals(3), Ringed-billed Gull(1)

Publicado el marzo 1, 2020 10:30 TARDE por carterl