Diario de trmcgrade

Today I arrived at East Woods, a UVM natural area just off of Swift St at around 10:45. It was about 45 degrees, cloudy, somewhat humid, and it began to rain about halfway through my visit. I started walking on the loop trail, hearing no birds at all until I got close to the river, at which point I heard a Red-breasted Nuthatch and a solitary Black-capped Chickadee, although I was unable to visually locate either. As I walked down the hill to the river, I saw a little flash of slaty grey and white fly up the river quite rapidly, and suspected that it might be a Belted Kingfisher. So, I clambered into the river and stood there for quite a while, waiting for it to come back into view, during which time it began raining somewhat hard. Although the Belted Kingfisher did eventually reappear, it wasn't before it started raining again and I got quite wet and cold. I managed to snap a couple of photos of it perched in a tree overhanging the river, quite far off. Although one of the photos is attached, it's really quite bad; I'll have to have a word with my camera's autofocus system.

After the Belted Kingfisher flew off out of sight again, I climbed back up to the trail and continued walking the loop. I encountered almost no wildlife, avian or otherwise, except for two Gray Squirrels, until I got back to the trailhead. At the trailhead, however, right as I was about to leave, I heard another Black-capped Chickadee, and saw two American Robins, as well as three American Crows. I was only able to get a photo of one of the American Robins, and it's also not very good, but it is attached to the observation.

Unfortunately, none of the species I saw were facultative migrants, although I suspect that the American Robins were partial migrants, and the Belted Kingfisher may have been also, given the relative lack of open water in which it could fish this year. So, the grand total of miles migrated by the birds I saw today may have been anywhere from a couple hundred to around a thousand or so, depending on how far south the rivers were frozen over. As for the others, the Black-capped Chickadee is a rather hardy bird, and they are capable of putting on some extra fat in the winter, as well as being relative generalists and beneficiaries of the numerous birdfeeders kept outside during the winter in this area, so the winter likely wasn't too hard for them. As for the American Crows, being able and willing to eat everything that moves or doesn't likely helps them survive the winter in this relatively cold climate. It seems that they also seem to congregate in somewhat urban areas, where there are lots of scraps and random bits of food to eat, and near busy roadways in less rural areas, where there is usually sufficient roadkill to keep them fed. The Belted Kingfisher, however, requires open water to maintain adequate amounts of food throughout the winter, so I suspect that the one I saw may have come from slightly further south.

I went out to listen for birds from dusk until just after proper dark last night at Square Meadow in Charlotte. It was cloudy, humid, about 50 degrees, and raining lightly. Because of the recent rains, the meadow was very wet, and there was standing water in a few spots. The vegetation is mainly grass (not sure what kind), with some slightly sturdier plants interspersed. The meadow is bounded by dense shrubs on one side, pines on one side, spruces on another, and aspens mixed with shrubs on another.

As I started walking across the field headed northeast, I heard an American Woodcock peenting (even though it sounds more like a beep to me), and adjusted course a little east to see if I could find it. As I headed towards the eastern edge of the meadow, I heard the peculiar whistling sound that Woodcock make with their wings as they're displaying, and realized that there were a few Woodcock. As I reached the eastern edge of the meadow, about three quarters of the way up, a third Woodcock flew out of the shrubs and right over my head. Evidently, I had interrupted a party. So, I decided to impose myself on them just a little more and waited for the first Woodcock I had heard to stop peenting and start displaying again. Once it took off, I walked (very quietly) towards the spot from which I thought it had taken off, and in about 30 seconds, it returned, this time about 15 feet from me.

I spent about 20 minutes listening to, and trying to watch, the Woodcock peenting, dancing, and doing their aerial displays. While I was creeping around their display grounds trying to get just a little bit closer, I heard some owls: two Eastern Screech-Owls, a Barred Owl, and a Great Horned Owl. It seemed as if the Eastern Screech-Owls might have been calling to each other, and although I only heard one of each, I suspect that the Great Horned and Barred Owls were looking for a mate, at the minimum, if not letting their mates know where they are.
Because I was only listening for birds, and mostly unable to see them, all of the behaviors that I observed (calling and displaying) were related to mate selection, although I didn't observe anything that pertained, in particular, to nest selection or territory selection.
Mini Activity: I heard 4 species from my spot near the edge of Square Meadow, the American Woodcock, Eastern Screech-Owl, Barred Owl, and Great Horned Owl. I believe, although it can be hard to tell when going by sound alone, that I heard five Woodcock, two Screech-Owls, one Barred Owl, and one Great Horned Owl.