Migration

I started my walk at 5:20 P.M. in a suburban/rural neighborhood in Warren, NJ ending my bird watching 100 minutes later at 7:00 P.M. There were many birds out but not a lot of visible birds feeding at this time of day. There were also way more birds being vocal than there were visible birds and because it is getting really close to breeding season males are singing and calling to attract females, defend an area, or to warn other males. When I was on my walk I saw many birds that are year round residents to central New Jersey. The Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Black Vulture, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Finch, Northern Cardinal, Brown-headed Cowbird, American Robin, Eastern Bluebird, Hairy Woodpecker, Mallard, and the Red-winged Blackbird have all adapted to be able to survive the winter in the New Jersey climate. One adaptation to not having to migrate over the winter is having a more generalist diet for example, an American Robin will feed on worms during the warmer months but over the winter will switch to fruit that is available to eat off of trees. Another example of this is the Black-capped Chickadee who will feed on insects and caterpillars when available but when it gets colder they will switch to an available food source such as seeds and berries. Many of these birds that don't migrate, have a varied diet that usually consists of insects in the summer but when weather starts to get colder they are able to consume more seed or berries that are still available in the winter. Another problem some species may face is the drop in temperature. These year- round residents have a way to deal with this. Some birds puff up their feathers to conserve warmth trap heat closer to their body, they can lower their body temperatures at night to save energy, and some species break personal space to huddle together for warmth.
Overcoming these challenges can sometimes be difficult and some cold winters with lower amounts of food can be deadly to birds, which is why some birds choose to migrate. The chipping sparrow is an example of one of the early migrant arrives n New Jersey. The Chipping sparrow is a migrant bird of New Jersey that will come during the breeding season and when not breeding they will fly as far south as Florida for the winter. The Chipping Sparrows that arrive early are able to take advantage of the first budding food resources and are able to take advantage of finding good nesting areas to breed with mates. A White-throated Sparrow is migrant bird that winters in New Jersey and will migrate as north to Burlington and as far north as Upper Canada. A reason that there are still some White-throated sparrows left in New Jersey is to take advantage of the available resources that are blooming here that might not yet be available in Burlington. Another risk of leaving to early would be running into a late winter storm or even a late cold temperature drop that could end up killing them.
Mini Activity: Chipping Sparrow: Warren NJ to Burlington VT (312 miles) x (4 birds) = 1248 miles
White-throated Sparrow: NJ to FL (1120 miles) x (3 birds) = 3360 miles
1248+3360= 4608 miles
Overall on this trip I saw black-capped chickadee(3), tufted titmouse(3), house finch(1), northern cardinal(1), brown-headed cowbird(1), american robin(8), eastern bluebird(1), hairy woodpecker(1), mallard(2), black vulture(4), chipping sparrow(4), white-throated sparrow(3). In addition I heard a white-breasted Nuthatch, and a red-winged blackbird.

Publicado el abril 9, 2020 03:37 MAÑANA por carterl