Diario de jobird

This entry was meant for yesterday afternoon but I hadn’t been added into the project yet and not all my pictures had uploaded.

I noticed bird song such as Eastern phoebe, Black-capped Chickadee, American robin, and Blue jay. I noticed that besides the bird song and the sound of dripping water from the rain earlier it was quiet.
I was reminded of a quiet forest glen from a fantasy book, undisturbed and untouched by man.
I drew a hemlock branch and I learned that the bark was very bumpy and that it smelled very different from a pine branch. The leaflets were not prickly needles but more smooth. I questioned why only the leaflets only seemed to cover the end of the branch and not all of the twigs coming out of it. I also wondered why it was so bumpy.
As I reflected on what I had observed I was surprised why there were not as many birds singing. An unexpected ad thrilling thing was I heard a barred owl and a Broad winged hawk. Before I headed out I had the idea that things would be wet due to the rain and birds would most likely be singing. My ideas were mostly correct except it was warmer than I expected, about 50 degrees.

I decided to listen to Barred owls the last few nights. They always seem to be calling around 11-12 pm. They make me think about people that stay up late and have parties because they are always making such a ruckus. I tried to get a photo of them but they flew away. I learned that right now is their breeding season so they could already have a nest or be later couple that is just courting. It is usually colder outside at night, around 40 degrees which makes me wonder if they like colder weather but then I have sometimes heard them occasionally call in the afternoon. It was quite peaceful listening to them however and it had been worth staying up.

Late this afternoon after a refreshing rain I decided to finally get outside. The last few days have been very cold so the balmy 40 degrees this afternoon was a pleasant surprise. Everything was beautifully decorated with rain drops and the smell of fresh earth was very refreshing. All the birds were singing and I was able to identify 17 species by sound and then I was able to see a view of them as they flew by. There were Yellow-rumped and Black-throated green warblers, Tufted titmice, Black-capped chickadees, a Eastern phoebe, Chimney swifts, American robin, American goldfinches, House finch, Hermit thrush, Northern cardinal, Bluejay, American crow, Mourning dove and a Ovenbird (who I almost got a picture of). I already knew that I had hairtop moss and a kind of spaghnum mosss, azure bluets, dandelions and violets but when I looked harder I was surprised to find that there were many other kinds of plants in my yard that I hadn't noticed before. I found a lichen called british soldier, mayflowers, low bush blueberry, wintergreen, serviceberry, little brown mushrooms, artists bracket and a mysterious flower. Also during my time outdoors I so happened to discover some insects because they wouldn't leave me alone. They were mostly black flies and mosquitos but there was a regular fly. I was also pleased to find my fuschia was blooming as well as my lilacs and my bleeding hearts are coming up again. I was surprised to find such biodiversity in just my yard and am excited to do more exploring. Who knows what I'll find?!

Today I focused on the biodiversity of my town. My mom drove me around town and we visited the town park and there were so many plants and flowers that I was nearly overwhelmed. There are maples, star magnolias, oaks, honeysuckle, hemlock, pine and dogwoods. There are all sorts of brambles such as roses, spindles ( i believe) and blackberries. There are violets, azure bluets and ground ivy, and wild strawberries blooming and canada mayflowers coming up. Sumac was also growing and there was a gray catbird eating it. There were even more birds, singing and flying in foraging flocks such as american goldfinches, pine warblers, yellow-rumped warblers, a least flycatcher, eastern phoebes, chickadees, tufted titmice, rose-breasted grosbeak, downy woodpecker,blue-headed vireo, warbling vireo, blue jay, american crow, white breasted nutach, american robin, northern mockingbird, black and white warbler, brown creeper, song sparrow, white throated sparrow, red winged blackbird, northern cardinal, european starling, house sparrows and a ovenbird. For mushrooms most of them were artists bracket.I did not see many mammals but I did see eastern chipmunks, gray squirrels and red squirrels. I think I may have focused more if my head wasn't facing the sky but bird watching is a big passion of mine. I need to spend more time working on focusing on other things which will take a lot of effort but I'm getting better. It still amazes me how much biological diversity there can be in one small area so imagine how much diversity there is in a big one! It's absolutely fantastic!! I can not wait to explore more.

Today was absolutely beautiful!! Around 5 in the evening I decided to go back to the town park ,Ingelside to explore the habitat there. It was a semi-mature mixed forest with lots of understory and bushes, a small field with scattered trees and a pond. There were maples, dogwoods, oaks, birch and alder trees. For other plants there were honey suckles, spindles, serviceberry,ferns, sumac and barberry plus much more. For flowers there were ground ivy, canada may flowers, violets, azure bluets, and dandelions along with the flowers of the trees. I did not see many mammals but I did see a chipmunk and a rabbit however I am sure there is more there at earlier or later hours. The pond wasn't really accessible but I did see red winged blackbirds and some geese down near the water however I plan to go back and explore near the water some more. There were 25 bird species today and the yellow rumped warblers were flitting everywhere. I did manage to get some lovely pictures but gave myself warbler neck in the process (ouch). I do hope to more thoroughly travel the trails and explore the water more but I had to return home after spending a hour there. I found some insects on the barberry flowers, a couple of fuzzy bumble bees and a thread waisted wasp, and a tiny blue butterfly that would barely hold still for me to identify. I am really becoming more attentive to the things around me and I am trying harder to focus on plants and insects as much as I do birds but it is quite hard, haha but this class is helping me a lot.

I would have posted this sooner but this past weekend and the beginning of this week was crazy, yesterday being my 18th birthday and all. On Sunday I went to my grandparents property in Townsend. They had been concerned that the Eastern phoebes that have been nesting on their shed for years were killed by a falcon that had visited the yard a couple days before and were concerned that the chicks were not being cared for. As soon as I heard the news I imediately planned to come visit to make sure both parents were alive. Luckily everything was fine and the lovely couple were still living and caring for their young. As I was there I explored their woods which are full of oak, pine, hemlock, birch and maple. Princess pine and canada mayflowers covered the ground along with rasberry vines whose thorns pricked at my legs. Also along the path sprung many a fern although I wasn't sure of the kinds but I think there were some ostrich ferns. There were peepers singing and the babbling of the brook was very peaceful. There were chipping sparrows in the apple trees by the shed and a Baltimore oriole in the crabapple tree in the field. The Eastern phoebes were busy catching all the black flies that swarmed around me, they didn't get to close but they did manage to catch some of the pesky individuals that dared taste my blood. More than one Ruby throated hummingbird visited the feeder, male and female. I found a young chipmunk and it's mother hiding underneath the fushia bush, the lilacs were blooming , the blueberries were blooming and all the blooming flowers everywhere attracted many bumblebees and honeybees. In the back ground behind the song of American goldfinches, Eastern phoebes, and Chipping sparrows, Northern cardinals,American robins and Gray catbirds sang along with the "yank yank" of a white breasted nuthatch. It was a beautiful evening and I felt so glad because of all the beauty around me and the time I got to spend with my family.

My yard is very unique. The soil is acidic due to all the pine and hemlock and mostly clay and sand and I am very confused to what to plant in my yard. All of my research has led to testing the ph of the soil to know for sure and I really don't want to buy a testing kit. The plants that grow in my yard include sessile bellwort, painted trillium,dandelions, bluets,violets, kinds of mustard, a bunch of kinds of grasses(i don't know what they are), hair topped moss, spaghnum moss, british soldier lichen, trailing arbutus, wintergreen, gold thread, star flower, ferns, low bush blueberry, wild strawberries, and later in the season daisies. I planted lilies of the valley and bleeding hearts in my yard last year and they are coming up fine right now. I have fuschia and lilac as well and some kind of serviceberry in my yard. So just wondering what kind of plants could do well in my yard and how to go about planting my yard. Do I need to know what ph my soil is to due so? Or is there any easy way to test the soil without a kit?

Throughout this past week I have spent careful attention on the plants in my yard. To be honest I was quite surprised at the variety my yard holds when left untamed for quite some time. Many starflowers and canada mayflowers fill my yard along with lots of goldthread. I found some bunchberry yesterday which was exciting, I have never seen it before in my yard. I noticed that the ants climbing all over the ferns, I was curious to whether they help the ferns open and they seemed to be sipping on some sort of nectar from them however it doesn't seem that ferns have flowers so where does the nectar come from? Paratism is the kind of relationship I have seen the most of recently. Annoying mosquitoes and black flies have been biting me a lot since I have a small wetland near by. I have at least 8 annoying bites by now. I have seen galls on all sorts of plants like maple bladder gall and cherry galls from mites and other insects. I have a birch tree and noticed that some sort of insect has been eating it's leaves and rolling them. I think it could be some kind of leave roller moth or beetle. I believe this would be an example of commenalism because it doesn't cause mortality to the tree. Mutualislm between the insects and Azure bluets have been one of my main focuses. More than five different species of insects rely on bluets for nectar. The ones I see most often are American coppers, bumblebees, Eastern pine elfins, Spring Azures, honeybees and that beautiful Snowberry clearwing. Many flies also visit, big and small. Some of them are so tiny and quick that I am unable to snap their picture however I been able to identify houseflies and Greater bee flies. I do believe that in some way or another I have seen all of these different relationships and it's just fascinating to watch. The birds also in their hiearchy to whom gets the food first and what part of the tree or yard is their territory and what is not is fascinating to observe.
I also have found a few nests by watching the parents carrying nesting material or food to the same area more than once however all of these nests were too high for me to reach so I will not be fully able to use nest watch.
I love watching and listening for new things while the days get warmer such as katydids and crickets now joining the evening chorus of gray treefrogs,spring peepers and american toads with the occasional hooting of a barred owl. Hearing the chimmney swifts twittering high in the sky on warm afternoons, the warblers singing off and on. Becoming more observant is like becoming part of nature, entering a whole new world and having a whole new perspective and respect for the relationships and coming and goings all around you. It's just absolutely wonderful!!

There is this river in my woods, it is very long and goes for many miles. I know this because I tracked it on Google maps. It seems to start from a big body of water in Gardner than makes its way here into Winchendon and it connects to many other little streams and brooks. It then branches off and heads into Baldwinville and Athol and also into Waterville. Anyways me and a friend decided to follow the river a little ways. There were yellow warblers, common yellowthroats, broad winged hawk, chimmney swifts, tree swallow, song sparrows, white throated sparrows, red winged blackbirds,cedar waxwings, warbling vireo, a blue mystery warbler,chickadees, red breasted nuthatch and bluejays, yellow rumped warblers and ovenbirds ( i callled another one out haha) There was also a female black and white warbler with food in it's beak. There were some lady's slippers, (I have heard it is a big year for them) lots of star flowers, canada mayflower and fringed polygalas. There were spring azures and Eastern Tiger swallowtails, other little moths, a couple spring darners,harvest men, a june bug, a dog tick, black flies, mosquitoes and of course many ants. There were baby oaks trees, birch trees, maple trees. There were also many galls and mushrooms all over the trees. Other plants along the trail were sweet fern, cinnamon fern, interrupted fern, lots of blueberries,poison ivy, serviceberry, bunch berry, rhodendrons and many more. There were chipmunks everywhere, scolding us as we went by and gray tree frogs were trilling in the trees and as we were by the river there were a couple green frogs glunking. It was a beautiful day and to make it better when I walked into my driveway I find a snowshoe hare under my porch!! Such beautiful sightings make hot afternoons just a little more