Diario de rlooney

Location: Centennial Woods
Time: 2:15-4:30
Weather: Sunny, with clouds 54 F
Species seen:
Black-capped Chickadee: 4 (2 by hearing)
Northern Cardinal: like 10? ( could have been the same ones but I saw a ton)
Tufted Titmouse:1
Yellow Warbler:1
My phone died 30 minutes into my walk, and all I got were the calls I uploaded.

I saw so many Northern Cardinals during my walk through the woods, all of them calling sounded really cool.

I believe I recorded the sound of three different Northern Cardinals, as they were coming from different locations in the woods and different areas. I believe the first two to be the song, and the third a call... but I am not too sure how to distinguish between them.

Date: 4/21/2019
Time: 3:30-6:45
Location: North Beach (Observations occurred on the walk to the cliffs)
Weather: Partly cloudy, ~70 F

I saw many different behaviors occurring during my observations at North Beach Park on April 21st 2019. Starting with nesting choice, I have attached two pictures of different nests I noticed, both of which were by the cliffs of North Beach, which faced the sunset. I did not see any birds occupying the nests, but I noticed one was on a very dangerous ledge, where if the nestling fell, they would be doomed, so this made me question why a bird would ever build a nest here. When thinking about it, I realized that although it is dangerous for the nestlings, it is also dangerous for any predators trying to get at the nest. The other picture attached, shows a nest that's near the cliffs but further from the edge, and in a safer area. I noticed a third edge, but was unable to take a picture because my phone died, however it was on the ground, covered by a bush, in a field.

I saw a few behaviors I would relate to mate selection between two Song Sparrows. I saw two Song Sparrows, who kept flying together, side by side, or following each other. Whenever they would land, they would hop on the ground together looking for food I imagine, and then fly off again, until they were out of sight.

On Blackboard, I attached the image of the sound map I made while observing at two different locations. I decided to try it in an open field, and on the cliffs and see where the most diversity was. I noted that the most diversity and sound was produced in the field, which I think may be the cause of multiple different habitable niches existing in the area. In the field, I heard 2 White-breasted Nuthatches, a Northern Cardinal, 4(?) American Robins, a Black-capped Chickadee, and two birds I was unable to distinguish. One bird was hiding in a bush making a "Chirp Chirp" noise, and I have attached a sound file and picture of the individual. I also heard something similar to a Northern Cardinal at the field, however it was a little different and I couldn't quite place it. On the cliffs, I heard fewer individuals, and I was a bit unsure about what I thought was an American Kestrel. I saw and heard 3 Song Sparrows, an American Crow, and a Tufted Titmouse.

Date: 4/7/2019
Time: 11:30 am
Weather: 49 F, partly cloudy
Location: Battery park
Habitat: Open woodland & dense thicket
When I went out in the morning, I did not see many unusual species that I haven't seen frequently the past few months. I saw many Northern Cardinals (I counted 6 total), and one Black-capped Chickadee.

The Northern Cardinal is a year-round species in Vermont, and has been a focal species of my field observations thus far. The Northern Cardinal has evolved to survive the cold Vermont winters because of the food availability and decrease in competition between other species compared to the warmer months. This species has learned to store seed caches and forage successfully in the winter, while minimizing their energy expended. This makes the Northern Cardinal the perfect species as a year-round resident.

New arrivals such as the Red-winged Blackbird has just started returning from warmer climates such as the Southern United States, and South America. Recently the temperature has increased, leading plant species to emerge from beneath the soil, bringing along invertebrates with them. This creates an ample food source for migrating species. Coming back sooner, the individuals are able to set up their nests and being breeding. It is extremely disruptive for a migrating species to come this early in the year however, because although some days it feels like spring, we are still being hit with snow storms, and cold temperatures which then causes the seeds, plants, and insect life to die off or move below the surface for a while longer. This can be beneficial, as the species will get first pick of a territory they wish to defend. This can negatively impact the species migrating here because they may quickly run out of food, or materials for nesting, or individuals to mate with, and if they do reproduce they may be met with fewer food items to feed their young.

The Red-winged Blackbird winters in Mexico, the distance to Mexico from my observation area is roughly 2,586 miles away when flying a straight line from one area to the next.

Location: New Orleans
Date: 03/12/2019
Weather: 74 F. Partly Cloudy
Time: 1pm-3pm
Habitat: Swamp

Bird ID:
Belted Kingfisher: 3
Bald Eagle: 2
Great Blue Heron: 4
Great Egret: 3
Pileated Woodpecker: 1
Mallard: ~10
Black-bellied Whistling Duck: 2

When I went to Louisiana for spring break, I dedicated a few days to birding, one day on the Mississippi river, and the other in the swamps of Louisiana. I am going to write about the notes I took and observations I made from the swamp. I saw many birds, and could identify only the ones we saw in class and one a tour guide was able to tell me. We would stop to watch birds per my request, and witnessed 2 Great Blue Herons taking turns bringing up twigs and leaves to the top of a tree, which I assumed to be them building a nest. The two birds would make short squawking noises to each other as if they were greeting one another.

Furthermore, I saw a Bald Eagle (which was super exciting), and was able to hear another one! I didn't know they sounded like that and it took me by surprise when we saw the outline of one on a telephone pole calling. The calls were dispersed, and high pitched, which when I looked up the sounds found out it was a female telling potential mates that she is ready for copulation. This was extremely interesting to me, as the Bald Eagle was positioned out in the open on the tallest thing around, probably displaying herself and allowing all potential suiters to find her.

When watching the Mallards I noticed sexual dimorphism between the males and females, the male had a bright green head, while the female had a brown head. I believe this adaptation in the males' head color was evolved through sexual selection by the female. When compared to the Black-bellied Whistling Duck I observed, the males colors were extremely different, and believe these differences manifested due to speciation dependent on their natural habitats. I assumed these birds were just visiting the area for winter as I was. I decided to watch the Mallards for a while, and took note of their behaviors, which mainly included them bobbing their heads in and out of the water searching for food. The Mallards also stayed relatively close to one another, maybe because they are safer from an alligator in a pack than by themselves (higher chance its someone else rather than you). These behaviors make sense to the Mallards circadian rhythm because they sleep at night, and forage during the day. Considering it was one of the first warm days in Louisiana for s few weeks, the Mallards were probably soaking up the sun, and taking a dip in the cool water.

The pishing exercise I couldn't get to work in Louisiana, which I expect to be because I didn't really see many groups in flocks. When I returned home however, I attempted it on my way to school this morning. I walk through Centennial Woods every morning to get to campus, and always see Black-capped Chickadees, especially in the morning. This morning I would make "pish" sounds whenever I heard more than one individual calling. At first I began with low pishing, but nothing came nearby. I then began to use a high pitched pish, to which I could see some Black-capped Chickadees moving from the top of trees to a lower position to see what was going on. I also noted that the calls between individuals began to increase in frequency when i would "pshh". Over time I think I got pretty good at the pish and even elongated the shhh. During my final 10 minutes in the woods A large flock of Black-capped Chickadees flew over my head and landed nearby searching the ground. I believe that the pshh sound resembles that of a predator coming (sound of bush leaves moving), and made the birds more vocal to alert other individuals of a possible threat. However, I also saw some individuals getting closer, and flocks moving in around me, which could be explained by a type of defense mechanism, where the birds appear to be stronger in a group. The groups could also form because the sound resembles a potential food source, like seeds falling, or insects(?). This could explain a sort of group foraging behavior, that could benefit all in the flock.

Time: 3:45-5pm
Date: 7 March 2019
Location: Wildlife area off of Bay rd, near Shelburne Farms
Weather: Cloudy, windy, 18 F
Habitat: Woods
Bird Observations:
Black-capped Chickadee: 19 (sound and sight)
American Robin: 3 (sight)
American Crow: 5 (sight and sound)

The birds I saw while at a wooded area off of Bay road in Shelburne VT are likely using multiple aspects of ecological and evolutionarily beneficial adaptations to survive winter. From class we learned that the Black-capped Chickadee utilizes an adaptation called Facultative Hypothermia reducing the birds metabolic rate, conserving an individuals energy stores. I saw the application of this adaptation while in the woods because the chickadees were not moving very far, but rather hopping around a couple of trees and not expending much energy. I can imagine a lot of time is spent resting rather than foraging, or moving. I didn't notice any birds hunting or feeding while I was out. I mainly saw Black-capped Chickadees which specialize on seeds rather than insects which allows them to thrive in colder climates in the summer. Perhaps the wintering bird species have seed stores they use during the winter as finding seeds in the snow in itself would be difficult. Species living in harsh cold temperatures need to forage on seeds to survive since insects are no longer available or abundant. I imagine that bird species use high branches, or holes in trees to overnight so that they are covered inside of the tree and safe from being spotted by predators (owls?).

On my walk I came across 23 dead trees or snags with cavities inside of them. When I tapped on the trees nothing came and peeked out unfortunately. I did notice that there was an area with 6 cavities in a small area, and above there were multiple Black-capped Chickadees calling out, so I did notice a correlation between bird abundance and snag/cavity abundance. I also noted that the larger the snag size, the larger the cavity that was available. Something I noted was that these cavities looked unnatural, as if they were created by something, perhaps a woodpecker or human activity? I can imagine that cavities in these snags are important homes for bird species, and without them individuals will be vulnerable to the environment and predation.

Location: Sand Bar State Park
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 19 F
2/19/2019

Birds:
Song Sparrow(?): 1
European Starling(?): 1
I wanted to view them for longer but both left, and I couldnt find them again :(
Black-capped Chickadee: 5
Downy Woodpecker: 2

I viewed the Downy Woodpecker & Black-capped Chickadee

Black-capped Chickadee:
The flight of the Chickadee was quick, and like short pulses, followed by jumping around on the ground, and bounding off to a branch around. I was able to notice that the tail of the Chickadee was spread while in the air, whereas it was compact while on the ground. I also noticed that the Black-capped Chickadee was able to fly in the same spot for a while before dropping on a branch. I couldn't see the individual wing flaps due to this species being so small, but it was very quick for it to move around, and the wing flaps looked like they moved in a circular motion, as if their shoulder blades were rolling.

Downy Woodpecker:
The flight of this bird was angled, his back was aligned with his head going upward, while his tail was facing down. Unlike the Black-capped Chickadee, I was able to see the wing patterns when this bird moved. I noticed that it looked like the Downy's wings moved directly up and down with much more power.

You can use the flight pattern alone to identify one of these species because the Black-capped chickadee moves quickly, and can hop around on a branch or on the ground to forage. The Downy Woodpecker moved in a very angular manner, and can be identified because where they moved was directly to a tree, rather than to sit on a branch or the floor. I believe I saw a bunch of different species at this time of day because it was beautiful outside, and perfect time to see prey items and forage. I believe if I wanted to see a bunch of birds, and many individuals of a single species, I would go out early in the morning. Luckily, however I got out of class early this morning, and was able to take a trip to the Sand Bar State Park before mid-day.