Diario de kevtolan

April 29th was a very warm 90° and humid day in Washington DC. After an 11 hour busride from Burlington to Washington DC, we arrived to have brunch with Senator Leahy. The urban downtown area, although very developed, played host to numerous bird species. Around town, some common Burlington birds, such as Robins, Mourning Doves, Sparrows, and Finches, were highly visible all throughout the day. At the Folger Shakespeare Library, we saw a Northern Mockingbird (around 4:30) which I was very excited about.

On Thursday, April 27th at around 10:30am a friend and I walked over to the wooded portion of Burlington Country Club (BCC). It was a very warm and slightly breezy day. There was lots of Chickadee chatter throughout the property. We saw the Cardinal and Woodpecker in a large central patch of woods that was surrounded by golfing greens. There were also large amount of various crows, gulls, and other birds.

In addition being more visible than in past months, the birds were much more vocal. A chorus of Chickadees sung throughout the grounds with an abundance on unidentified birds. The Cardinal, while silent, was making itself highly visible on high, bare branches. There were many cavities in trees, which could be used for nesting, and visible nests which seemed to emanate calls, leading us to believe there may be nestlings or an incubating parent in residence. The cavities were likely utilized by cavity nesters, such as Woodpeckers.

I image the quality of territory on the golf course to vary based on species. For instance, birds that live in an edge ecosystem or feed on worms, etc, such as Robins, may fair very well on a golf course. However, birds that live in continuous, mature forests wouldn't find good habitat on a golf course. There is plenty of nesting material available for nest builders. Apart from natural fibers, there are lots of artificial fibers from various golf equipment. For example, fabrics or threads from golfing bags and gloves. There was also a decent amount of dog hair, which is frequently used for nest building, as BCC allows dogs on its premises.

On April, 20th at 2:30 two friends and I went to Centennial Woods. It a cloudy and mild day, at around 50°. Upon entering the woods, we spotted a pair of Downy Woodpeckers which quickly darted away. Further in the woods, we saw a small group of Black-capped Chickadees and a Turkey Vulture souring high above.

On Friday, April 7th I traveled to Burlington's Red Rocks Park right after class, and prior to skiing. It was very overcast and down pouring and around 40°F. It was fairly windy and the water was choppy along the cliffs and shoreline. The area was deserted of people, which I assume is due to the weather. Under the canopy there was much less wind and rain.

Upon entering the woods and walking a little bit, I heard a very distinctive call. I recognized it, but couldn't place it to a bird. Naturally, I whipped out the binoculars and spent awhile looking around. Although I never found it, upon returning home and going through past bird calls, I clearly identified it as a Red-winged Blackbird. Upon reaching the water, I did see several Ring-billed Gull and Canada Geese. If I had waited for a lightening of rain I probably would have seen more work their way out of the woodwork but, as I was skiing later on, I was strapped for time.

It was worth it, though. At Stowe I lucked out and saw a Porcupine. However, because of the rain/freezing rain/snow/wind/altitude there wasn't any avian life.

One obvious year-round resident that I've noticed both this past winter and every winter at home is the Black-capped Chickadee. Unlike insectivores and nectarivores, Chickadees have adapted their usual diet of spiders and insect to feed on seeds and berries in winter. This adaptable diet allows them to forego migration and instead forage in a snowy and cold environment. They are also known to store reserves of food for later consumption.

Not all species are able to survive on the limited resources found in the Vermont winter, and such species must migrate annually. One such migratory species is the Cedar Waxwing, one of my personal favorites. Around this time of year, they begin migrating north to the lower Canadian provinces from the southern USA and Mexico. Although considered a "year round bird" in much of the USA, during the winter it is very unusual for them to not migrate at least somewhat south, as they're highly specialized in eating fruit. This quest for fruit forces them to find warmer ground where fruits and berries are more abundant. In the summer, this diet is supplemented with protein-rich and nutritious insects. This search for supplemental nutrients and breeding grounds drives them north.

Over spring break, I knew I wanted to do some birding. Luckily, on Marche 13th, the day before Winter Storm Stella, I got an opportunity to. In Maine, I live within walking distance from a large nature preserve, called Sewell Woods, that extends from a woods to a nature preserve (Thorne Head) with an overlook over the Kennebec River. It was relatively warm and overcast, with little to no wind. Prior to Sewell Woods I went to the waterfront at 2 separate places in hopes of seeing some waterfowl, however the bays I stopped at were all filled with ice, so I wasn't too hopeful about seeing any birds on the water or hunting on the shore.

Upon parking at Sewell Woods, I quickly realized that it was absolutely deserted. This, of course, was welcome to me, being I was alone and wanted to be as unimposing as possible to see as many birds as possible. Surprisingly to me, I didn't see any birds in my first 15 minutes of walking, despite walking as quietly as possible, and keeping my eyes aimed skyward.

Eventually, I considered turning back. I stopped walking and stood still for around 5 minutes. I heard a faint "tap-tap-tap-tap" on a tree. I took my binoculars out, and looked around. Eventually I found the source of the noise: a downy woodpecker! I first noticed it on one tree and observed it from the base while it hammered away. Several minutes later, it flew to a nearby tree and continued to peck the trunk.

It's foraging behavior is in line with the impending storm. It's similar behavior to what I've observed in song birds around campus before storms: frantic foraging with seemingly no other objective except gorging. The Downy I observed has similar countershading to numerous other species, likely as an anti-predation measure. The Downy also has "messy" plumage on its head, which is different than other birds, such as the Grackle I saw last post, which look much slicker with few, if any, feathers not laid flat.

Using an Audubon bird call (https://www.amazon.com/Audubon-RE2473-Bird-Call/dp/B0002E1MWO), I tried to illicit a response. While I didn't get an auditory response, it did momentarily stop drilling for several seconds and looked around quickly. This didn't last long, however, and I was only able to generate this response once.

On Wednesday, Thursday 9th at 12:30, three friends and I went to Burlington’s Urban Reserve to walk down toward North Beach. It was a warm 55°F day with mild wind. The path was relatively crowded with joggers, bikers, and dog walkers, and there was a loud, active construction site next to the skate park as well.

Being along the lakeshore, I was hoping to get a nice look at either some birds of prey or shorebirds. However, there was a noticeable lack of movement along the shore and jetties. The beach, which leads off from the path, was deserted; we sat and relaxed for a bit, enjoying the weather, while observing for a hopeful sighting but didn't have any sightings there. I attribute this to the high level of noise in the park that day. Even from the beach, the quietest location we found, we could still hear pedestrians on the path and, even worse when bird watching, dogs barking.

Apart from Common Grackles, Crows, and House Finches we had no other sightings. However, I did hear a Cardinal and Tufted Titmouse.

The Finches were foraging among high grasses on an abandoned lot in a group of 5-10. As it was such a warm day, they likely could focus their energy on feeding rather than preserving body heat. Also, the fact that they were foraging in a small flock indicates that there were probably abundant seeds. Without snow covering the ground, they don’t need to rely on artificial feeders and harder to find food sources and can simply forage on the ground.

Crows were also demonstrating springtime behavior. In large flocks they were flying overhead. In the winter they gather in large groups at food-heavy locations, so they were probably migrating back to their home ranges.

In the woods, we didn’t see any birds. On the edge of an opening under power lines was where we heard the most, but although we searched for 15 minutes around the area with binoculars, we were unable to see any, other than a murder of Crows flying above head. In this area, we heard a White-breasted Nuthatch and a Black-Capped Chickadee. We decided to continue down the clearing in hopes of spotting a bird perched on the edge of the woods or swooping across the clearing. When this didn’t work, we sat quietly and listened for another 15 minutes, which also yielded no results. As we turned back, and entered back on the Centennial “loop”, we began hearing a relatively monotone “chirp”, but we were unable to track it down or identify it. Upon leaving the woods, feeling pretty down on our luck, we noticed a small group of Robins in a tree by the intersection of East Ave and Carrigan Drive. One of them was sitting on a nest, with the rest perched on nearby branches. As we approached quietly, the one on the nest took off with a few others, but the rest stayed, in general, on their perches.

I wish that we had gotten out earlier in the morning to catch birds out-and-about gathering food before the heavy snow began to fall. However, it was a good lesson for next time to get out earlier in the day, particularly if the weather is supposed to take a turn for the worse.

Being there were only two I witnessed flying, I began making comparisons between the flight patterns of the Robins and Crows I had seen.
Crows, being a much larger bird with longer wings, made slower, deliberate wing strokes in small bursts, then use their large wings to glide until they need to flap again to get back to a gliding altitude. Their long wings and gliding prevents them from being the most agile fliers. Their feathers are also shaped like splayed fingers, which aids in gliding.
Robins, which are small song birds, make very rapid wing beats constantly. Their wings are sleeker and smaller (relative to body size) when compared to the Crow. This makes sense, as robins must be agile to make quick turns around obstacles, whereas Crows can fly above the tree line where smaller birds may be wary to venture out to. Crows also often land in open fields, where their large wings have the space to take off.