Diario de gmsaveson

Field Journal 6

Time: 12:00 - 3:00
Date: 4/25/20
Location: Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary
Temperature: 60℉
Cloud cover: 10% clouds
Wind: none
Habitat: Swallows and mockingbirds seen on open farmland. Other observations taken in a deciduous forest bordering a water body

Field Journal 6
04/19/2020

6:00 - 7:30am
04/19/2020
Spring Grove Cemetery, Florence, MA, 01062
28 degrees
Clouds: none

A white-throated sparrow woke me at 5:45am, and after briefly considering going back to sleep, I walked bleary-eyed into the dusky morning. A light frost coated the grass, and the sky was just starting to glow red in the east. Bird songs resonated from every tree as I made my way to the cemetery down the road. I saw a starling, chickadee, cardinal, chipping sparrow, and many robins on the short walk. The chipping sparrow seemed to be singing in response to another chipping sparrow further down the street. Perhaps they were singing to mark their neighboring territories.
The graveyard was an interesting habitat to observe birds. The few trees seemed to serve as prime singing platforms, while most birds pecked at the grass. Robins sang and squabbed in the trees, and some agonistic behavior was apparent between them. Often a bird would be driven out of a tree if the tree was already occupied, indicating that they were defending territories. Two robins were either fighting or copulating in short flights a few feet off the ground, and both actions demonstrate reproductive-related activities.
Lots of chipping sparrows were foraging in the grass, and some were singing on display in trees. A pair of song sparrows seemed to be checking each other out in one tree- one would hop away and the other would follow. Maybe it was a female testing a male’s interest, seeing how he responds to her movements? I moved to take a picture and scared one of them away.
I seated myself under a tree to make a sound map. There was a robin in literally every direction, both near and far. This makes me think that they were singing to attract females rather than defend a territory, because given their abundance, their territories would likely not have been large enough to be worth defending (also, there are not enough nesting sites in the graveyard to accommodate territories for all the singing birds that I saw). Also audible were two white-throated sparrows further away. In class, we talked about how white-throated sparrows have a lower-pitched song that carries well through dense vegetation, while the chipping sparrow has a high-pitched song that carries relatively well over open spaces. Indeed, the chipping sparrows were common in the open graveyard, while I only heard the white-throated sparrows from the far-off trees. A song sparrow was also singing nearby. A flicker was drumming and calling incessantly from a nearby tree. I presume that the drumming served communicative rather than foraging purposes, because it was accompanied by loud calls. There were three other flickers foraging in the grass- they did not seem to care whether the calling flicker was trying to drive them away or impress them. My map showed the birds to be spaced out as best they could be. It occurred to me that my map only accounts for male birds. In most birds, it falls on the male to defend a territory and attract a female through song, but I wonder about the female birds that do not show up on this map. Are females in some species territorial with each other? Singing to attract mates?
It is likely that the chipping sparrow I passed who was singing in my neighbor’s yard and the chipping sparrow singing from a tree in the graveyard had different qualities of habitat. Chipping sparrows feed mainly in grass, a resource found in greater abundance in the graveyard than the front yard, the latter being very shrubby. However, the mown lawn of a graveyard may not offer much food, given that it is a monoculture, while the yard may have a wider variety of plants and food sources. Also to consider is that sparrows like to build nests 3-10 feet from the ground in shrubs. The yard territory has far more low-lying shrubs than the graveyard in which to build nests. This may indicate that the chipping sparrow in the yard has a relatively better territory, and thus may have a fitness advantage over the sparrow in the graveyard.
I did not see any nest-building activities on my walk, likely because there are not good nesting materials or sites in the graveyard. Northern Flickers nest in tree cavities that they have either excavated or found/reused. Their cavities are not lined with anything but have a pile of woodchips at the bottom, meaning that Flickers do not need to forage for nest materials. The graveyard where I saw the Flickers did not strike me as a good nesting site, given that the trees are very exposed to weather, although the forest lining the edge of the graveyard may make a good nesting site.
White-throated sparrows build their nests on or very close to the ground. They line it with moss, grass, wood chips, twigs, and pine needles. Fine grasses, rootlets, and deer hair are also incorporated as in inner lining. These are all materials that would be found in the forest, so I imagine a white-throated sparrow would have a difficult time building a nest using materials sourced from the graveyard. There is also no cover at ground level, which would leave the nest in a vulnerable position.

Field Journal 4
4/12/20

Time: 10:15
Date: 12 April 2020
Location: Wendell State Forest, Wendell, MA
Temperature: 50℉
Cloud cover: 20% cloud cover
Wind: light breeze

Field Journal 4
3/12/20

Time: 8:15 am
Date: 4 April 2020
Location: Silvio Conte Wildlife Refuge, Hadley, MA
Temperature: 43℉
Cloud cover: 95% cloud cover
Wind: none

The morning was calm and still as my mom and I set off down a wooded trail in the Conte Wildlife Refuge. The woods consisted mainly of young birches and sumac and little wetlands, surrounded by large fields. Singing song sparrows greeted us, perched on low-growing plants near the forest edge. Although not obligate migrants, some song sparrows may have overwintered as Far south as Florida (1,300 miles from Massachusetts). Mourning doves and robins flew overhead, both congregating in flocks. In previous bird walks, I had not seen as many same-species flocks as I did on this one. Perhaps larger flocks are becoming more common as food resources are becoming more abundant and evenly distributed with warmer days. Spring is certainly here- I saw many trout lily leaves, red maple flowers, greenish-yellow willow buds, and heard a spring peeper.

I saw what I thought was a flock of robins perched in a birch, but after taking their picture and zooming in for a closer look, I was happy to discover that they were Cedar Waxwings. In contrast to the active and vocal robins, jays, doves and sparrows, the cedar waxwings were still and silent. If these birds recently flew up from their non-breeding range south of North Carolina, then they could have flown over 600 miles to reach western Massachusetts.

Once the trail became more heavily wooded, I spotted a Downy Woodpecker and many Eastern Phoebes. Downy Woodpeckers are year-round residents that are able to forage for food through the northern winters. They are well adapted to endure northern winters on a diet of insect larvae, berries, seeds, and acorns, and they are a common participant in mixed-species flocks, which offer better foraging-efficiency and protection to overwintering birds. Although winters are energetically costly and risky to year-round residents such as Downy Woodpeckers, they benefit from good access to nest sites early in the year and do not have to deal with the energy costs and high mortality rates of a long migration. Birds such as the Eastern Phoebes do not have the option to overwinter in Massachusetts due to a lack of flis to catch. The flycatchers I observed in Early April will have better access to nesting sites but less access to food than those arriving later in the spring. I noted a small swarm of bugs later on my walk, however, indicating that flycatchers indeed have a small food supply at this time of year. These Phoebes could have recently arrived from anywhere between Virginia and central Mexico. (From Massachusetts to Florida is 1,300 miles).

Reaching a river running through a tall pine stand, I observed a female mallard sitting on a downed tree in a river and a flock of jays flying loudly from a tall pine tree. We came upon an overlook to a large field, which was full of robins and a few red-winged blackbirds pecking at the ground. My mom noted that these robins looked smaller than the robins she had seen throughout the winter. Perhaps these particular robins were making their way back north and the strenuous flight had used the bulk of their fat reserves. Alternatively, they may have been the same birds she had seen earlier in the winter but had since lost their fat reserves. The wintering range of Robins extends as far south as Florida, although these birds probably would be coming from a closer state to minimize their flight distance. Robins that overwinter in the north benefit from early access to food and breeding resources in the spring at the cost of enduring harsh weather and food scarcity through the winter. Robins that migrate south for the winter do so to decrease their competition for food and exposure to unfavorable climates over the winter, but at the cost of a dangerous migratory flight and reduced access to breeding sites upon their return. Back in the woods, I came across a pond with three male mallards and a downy woodpecker hopping along the bank.

Leaving the woods, we walked down a road lined with willows and surrounded by large fields. Red-winged Blackbirds were everywhere, as well as a few tufted titmice. A small bird flew overhead, and its graceful movement was different from that of the blackbirds. A photo revealed it to be a female American Kestrel! A zoom lens had proved to be a useful ID tool for the second time during this walk. A camera was especially helpful on such a cloudy day, when most birds appeared as dark silhouettes against the grey clouds.

An interesting note about the location of my bird walk is that a barn on the refuge property houses one of the largest barn swallow colonies in Massachusetts. Sadly, the barn is in disrepair, and after much controversy between swallow advocates and the Fish and Wildlife service (who do not have the budget to maintain the decrepit barn), the barn and its colony are to be demolished this year. I did not see any swallows on my walk because they are obligate migrants, and the bugs that sustain them are not available in Massachusetts yet. However, more insects are starting to emerge earlier in the spring due to a warming climate, and the resulting phenological mismatch between insects and bird migration may contribute to recent flycatcher declines. Swallow populations have declined by 50% since the 1990’s.

The total migration miles traveled by the individuals I observed on my walk is about

= 15 robins (assuming only half migrated) * 700 miles
10 Red-winged Blackbirds (assuming half migrated) * 300 miles
6 Eastern Phoebes * 1000 miles
7 song sparrows (assuming half migrated) * 800 miles
10 cedar waxwings * 600 miles
= 31,100 miles total. That’s pretty far. Equivalent of going to California and back like 5 times.

Field Journal 3
3/12/20

Time: 9:00am
Date: 11 March 2020
Location: Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area, Northampton, MA
Temperature: 36℉
Cloud cover: 5% cloud cover
Wond: No wind

I began my observations on a path through a forest of mixed conifers and deciduous trees. There were so many birds I was overwhelmed and did not attempt to count them all. Most noticeable were the Black-capped Chickadees, of which fifteen or so flitted between branches. Also present were at least two White-breasted Nuthatches, at least three Tufted Titmice, one Brown Creeper, two Downy Woodpeckers, and several (maybe five?) Dark-eyed Juncos. I took this opportunity to pshh, and succeeded in attracting two chickadees to nearby branches. I sat down and pshhed some more, but the Downy Woodpecker high above did not take notice. A titmouse briefly perched on a nearby branch to investigate me, turning so that it could focus an eye on me before flying off. While pshhing, I tried to make the air whistle through my teeth to better mimic the high-pitched cheeps of the Black-capped Chickadees. Because chickadees form the nucleus of mixed-species flocks, both chickadees and other small birds will be attracted to their sounds. The mixed-species flock I was observing gradually moved on; first the chickadees left, then some of the other birds, followed by the woodpeckers (they spent longer on one tree than the other birds) and titmice. Thinking back to the other mixed-species flocks I have observed, I notice that they do not linger in one place for extended periods. This could be due to my presence, but it also makes sense that these foraging birds need to constantly be finding fresh sites.

Next, I walked through the woods along the edge of a marsh thick with cattails. Song sparrows and Red-winged Blackbirds were ceaselessly singing. The sparrows were most common in low vegetation, hidden among the cattail stems and in the branches of small shrubs.The blackbirds perched themselves more conspicuously on taller dead trees. One male in particular was clearly trying to be as visible as possible, and puffed his brilliant red wings with each song. This behavior indicates that he was defending his territory and attracting mates, a typical spring activity.

I wonder why the sparrows were more seclusive than the blackbirds, and whether female blackbirds are also as bold as the males (I did not see any females). The different plumages of song sparrows, female blackbirds, and male blackbirds give insight to the different evolutionary purposes of their colors. Song sparrows and female Red-winged Blackbirds are both streaked in neutral browns that provide good camouflage, while male Red-winged Blackbirds have brilliant red and yellow shoulders that dramatically contrast their black bodies and surroundings. After turning to the internet, I learned that the loud, alarm-clock-like songs are sung by male RWBs but not females, and that their vocalizations, like their plumage, are meant to be as noticeable as possible. Considering that RWB males mate with multiple females that nest in his territory, it makes sense that males will be more successful if they are better able to attract mates and have a strong territorial presence, while females only need to choose mates and therefore see no evolutionary advantages from bold colors. In fact, the abundance of predators of RWBs and their nests will favor coloration in females that are as inconspicuous as possible. Song sparrows of both sexes are colored for camouflage. According to the literature, female song sparrows select mates based primarily on their songs, so perhaps the benefits of bright colors are not as critical to male reproductive fitness as the costs associated with increased visibility to predators.

I also wonder whether the songs were responding to one another, or simply independent calls meant to be heard but not responded to. The blackbird songs did not overlap much, as though the birds were coordinating their songs. Also interesting to note was that only the last note of the blackbird song was audible from far away- I only heard the softer intro notes from nearby birds. I also liked hearing the variation in the song sparrow’s song. Does each sparrow have its own song? How many different songs are in one sparrow’s repertoire? Also seen during my stop at the marsh was a red-tailed hawk and four cardinals.

Next, I walked along the lake and spotted many waterfowl. Two geese were dunking their heads into the shallow shoreline water (I assume they were feeding) about ten feet away. I could hear them making soft, low sounds, almost as though they were humming to themselves. Were they communicating with each other? Reassuring each other that the other was nearby? Or making noise for some other purpose? Further out on the lake were many more geese and ducks, including Common Mergansers, Mallards, and at least one Bufflehead. They used sound as an alarm, calling out in short, loud quacks after spotting me.

Although it is still early March, signs of spring were plentiful. A honeybee was pollinating a blooming crocus by the main road, skunk cabbage was emerging along the marsh edges, and a deer tick was crawling up my leg.

Field Journal 2
02/26/20

Time: 7:00am to 8:30am
Date: 02/26/2020
Clouds: 100% cloud cover
Wind: Slight breeze from the southwest
Temperature: 33 degrees
Precipitation: Lightly snowing and raining
Location: The woods near the Intervale community farms

As I walked the wooded trail running along the Winooski River, I saw four Common Mergansers swimming in the river where open water bordered water covered by ice. They were facing upstream without diving or moving much. Two females eventually climbed onto the ice and preened their breast feathers. The river provided an open space where birds were visible as they flew from one bank to the other, and I saw many indiscernible birds and one Canada Goose fly over the open expanse.

Watching the river flow under the ice, I wondered about the challenges faced by aquatic birds that overwinter in Vermont. As the Mergansers stood on the ice and paddled in the water, I imagined the countercurrent exchange taking place in their legs and feet. Possibly even the complete shunting of blood flow at the ankles to minimize heat lost through these large apteria. I also imagined the uropygial gland was hard at work as the female Mergansers preened, providing oils and waxes necessary to keep their feathers waterproof and airtight to maximize insulation. The Mergansers also behaved with energy-conservation in mind- they were paddling just enough to keep their place in the current, and those that left the water did not expend energy by traveling very far.

Further along the trail, approximately 5 Nuthatches were visible in the upper branches of trees. Two woodpeckers were pecking at a branch without bark, (They seemed too large to be Downy Woodpeckers, so I counted them as Hairy Woodpeckers). They were sharing the small branch peacefully, and in light of class discussion about personal space, I am guessing they were a pair due to the lack of territoriality over the branch resource. Three White-breasted Nuthatches and three Pileated Woodpeckers were further down the trail, still near the river. Pileated woodpeckers were all pecking in live trees high in the canopy, occasionally calling loudly. Five Blue Jays flew across the river and landed together in the top of a tree. One American Crow was perched in a tree, and two Black-Capped Chickadees and two Cardinals (male and female) were flushed out of the undergrowth when a ski-trail groomer drove by.

As I stood shivering in the light rain that had begun to fall, I wished I had downy plumage to puff up when temperatures drop below the thermoneutral zone. Overwintering birds such as Chickadees can shiver to produce more heat, and they can increase the insulative power of their feathers by puffing them out. They can also cover their legs with their feathers and tuck their bills under their wings as they perch or sleep to reduce loss from these apteria. Some birds will also build up fat reserves for the wintertime, which can provide extra energy necessary for shivering. Rather than expend lots of additional energy to keep themselves warm, some birds will decrease their body temperatures overnight in a controlled hypothermia or for a few weeks in a torpor. This is only beneficial in birds with extreme energy demands, however, due to high costs associated with a slow wake-up from these states.

I passed many snags as I walked, some with large holes and piles of shavings on the ground below (see picture). I stationed myself beside one snag with many holes. After a few minutes of no activity, I gently knocked on the trunk, but with no results. On a neighboring tree, however, a Black-capped Chickadee was pecking at the end of a dead branch (see picture). It appeared to be feeding on something- maybe some freshly exposed insect larvae or a fruiting fungus?

Snags hold valuable roles in forest ecosystems, among which are their services to overwintering birds. Birds may seek out holes in snags for shelter from the harsh weather, and some cavities may hold a large huddle of birds seeking increased insulation. Snags may also offer prime perching branches, seeing as they are spacious and clear of obstructive leaves. In addition to protection, snags offer good feeding grounds: many that I passed on my walk were riddled with fresh woodpecker holes that evidenced the bountiful insects and larvae residing inside the softer wood of snags. Cavities may also be used for food caches, which some species make to supplement their foraging over the winter. Black-capped Chickadees are known to store thousands of seeds and bits of animal fat from carcasses in multiple caches during harsh seasons.

Walking back along the trail, Back-capped Chickadee calls alerted me to a mixed-species flock. They flew descended from the trees after I pshhed, and I got a close-up view of one Brown Creeper, one Downy Woodpecker, three Tufted Titmice, five White-breasted Nuthatches, and seven Black-capped Chickadees! Mixed-species flocks such as this are one strategy adapted by birds to better survive the winter. Members of a flock benefit from increased eyes that can better both spot food-rich resources and predators, which increases the proportion of the time flock members can spend foraging. Niche-partitioning within a mixed-species flock reduces competition between its constituents. Bird species differ in the type/part of trees in which they forage, as well as the type of prey they seek, minimizing competition for scarce food resources.

After leaving the forest, I saw more birds along the roads. One Black-capped Chickadee, one Tufted Titmouse, three Eastern Phoebes, one American Crow, One gull, one White-breasted Nuthatch, and four Blue Jays were all in high branches along suburban roads.

Field Journal 1
Gretchen Saveson
02/19/20

1:10pm
3 degrees F
NE 6 knot wind
02/14/2020
UVM campus and North Prospect Street

From the steps of the AIken building, I observed two Rock Pigeons on the roof of the Davis Center. They took flight and flew as a pair along a curvy flight path. No birds were visible on the main part of campus, though I spotted a Ring-billed Gull flying overhead toward Lake Champlain. Its wing flapping was minimal as it glided by. This flight pattern is made possible by the high aspect ratio of gull wings. High aspect ratio wings have a high wing length to wing width ratio that are most efficient for long and fast flight but not well designed for maneuverability and short bursts of speed.This is because each wing stroke in a high aspect ratio wing will propel a bird a greater distance (less profile drag), but at the cost of quick flaps. This wing shape makes sense for the Ring-billed Gull’s niche, as many Gulls often fly long distances over large water bodies. Indeed, the Ring-billed Gull flew in a fast, direct path with few wing flaps.

There were two hotspots of bird activity along South Prospect Street between Main Street and Redstone Campus. In a yard at the intersection of Robinson Parkway, many birds were seen in bushes and small trees in two yards with bird feeders. The combination of bird feeders and shrubs clearly created a refuge for urban birds in the winter. Black-capped Chickadees, House Sparrows, Blue Jays, and American Goldfinches were vocalizing and moving about. Goldfinches flew in an undulating pattern, characterized by a few rapid wing beats of lift followed by a brief period during which wings were tucked and the bird dropped. Calls of “potato chip” were heard as the finch flew- a very distinctive ID characteristic. This flight pattern differed from that of the House Sparrow, which flew in a direct path with even wingbeats. Theory suggests that undulating flight is most economical for slow flight (Rayner 1985). Also at this stop were two White-breasted Nuthatches, crawling along the trunk of a large maple tree. After observing White-breasted Nuthatches, a few identification traits stood out to me; they like to crawl along trees face-down, and they have black tops to their head that stand in sharp contrast to their white face and breast (see drawing). They are larger than chickadees and do not have a black stripe across their eye as chickadees do. A Tufted-titmouse and a Northern Cardinal were also in the snow beneath a rose bush.

The next hotspot was a fruit-bearing tree near the Redstone campus. Over twenty robins were foraging in the branches and nearby area. A few European starlings were also in the tree and nearby bushes. A few Robins were on the roof of a nearby building, drinking from the edge of a melting snow patch on the roof. The final stop was in the redstone pines, where I heard two woodpeckers drumming but was not able to see them.