Diario de emlapoin

This afternoon from 12-2:30 I went for a hike on some cross country ski trails behind my parent's house in Richmond, VT. The temperature fluctuated from mid to lower 30s as a gained a bit of elevation and the day wore on. The habitat the entire way was heavily forested without any real clearings, but when I reached the highest elevation point there was a ledge that looked out over a valley with a road, a large pond, and a few houses. Looking out over this ravine for a while, I spotted a pair of Gulls (unsure whether they were Herring or Ring-billed, as they were too far away for me to tell), an American Robin (identified by its call), and several smaller, songbird-type species that I couldn't quite identify flying in groups of 3-5. On my descent, I remembered to pay attention to dead snags, and saw many that had been revealed by the recent snowmelt. I tallied 13 potential bird hiding spots in total, and noticed that (typically) the larger the snag size, the larger the cavity size. However, even after rapping on a couple snags with a stick, I didn't observe any birds hiding out in there, but did manage to disturb a few mice. I think species most likely to utilize these hiding places would be ground-dwelling species such as Pheasant or Quail, which I would regularly see on past hikes with my dog in this area (she used to love flushing them out). About halfway through my descent I spotted a streak of red through the trees, and a male Northern Cardinal came to roost not far from me. I managed to snap a picture, and was really excited to see such a bright bird against the dark backdrop of tree branches and overcast skies. Overall, I didn't see as many birds as I had hoped to during this walk, but I assume this had a lot to do with the high winds and threat of rain today. Many birds were likely staying unexposed to the winds in order to conserve their body heat.

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.