Ecological Physiology Bay rd

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.

Publicado el marzo 8, 2019 01:44 MAÑANA por rlooney