Journal 3: Walking the North End of Burlington 3/24/2020

I decided to do some birding around Burlington's North End, as social-isolation makes it difficult to go too far from home. Immediately when I stepped out of my house, I took note of an American crow perched on top of a pine tree across the street. He was cawing loudly, and there were no other individuals in sight, so I would guess that this was a long-distance call being used to summon other crows. I continued about three blocks down the street, and a Seagull (unsure exactly which species) glided silently overhead. I took note of the way he pitched his wings to create a corkscrew-like motion, and wondered what the purpose of this behavior might be. I found it interesting to compare the sleek black plumage of the American Crow to the stark white Seagull. Both birds are a similar size and body shape, and yet have such different coloration. I would imagine that the Crow's darker plumage evolved to make them less noticeable in heavy tree-cover, whereas the Seagull's white plumage may have evolved to allow them to blend in with the white caps of waves from afar. The difference in their plumage therefore emphasized the way that environment, and the advantageous effects of camouflage influence plumage color. For the rest of my walk, I didn't have any more bird sightings, but heard a few songs that I couldn't identify, but sounded like songbird chatter. When I rounded the corner back to my apartment, I heard an American Robin calling, and spotted him perched in a tree. He was also alone, and seemed to be performing a long-distance call. I spent the last part of my birding excursion on our back deck, and sat for about 30 minutes. I could hear several chickadees chirping, but it took me a few minutes to spot them. There were four or five of them inside of the hedges and fencing that separate my backyard from an adjacent house. I watched them hopping around in there and chattering with each other. I attempted spishing at them, but didn't notice any major changes in their movement or vocalizations. However, I have made successful spishing attempts in the past, and I think this sound works to attract or deter small birds because it resembles the sound of a large flock of small birds chattering with each other, and will either draw the individual to the group or drive it away in fear.

Publicado el marzo 24, 2020 05:49 TARDE por emlapoin