March 8 Entry- Field Journal 3
Date - March 5, 2021
Start time - 9:00am
End time - 10:30am
Location - Technology Park, South Burlington
Weather - 25 degrees Fahrenheit, sunny with some cloud coverage, little to no wind, no precipitation
Habitat(s) - Mainly found in the crabapple trees, also in birch and pines. These trees are scattered decoratively around office buildings.
The species I intended to observe for this week's field journal was the big flock of Bohemian Waxwings that flew into Technology Park! These birds love the ornamental crabapple trees scattered all around Tech Park, so it was no shock to see them eating here during their interesting southeast migration. These birds spend their time eating and searching for food, but they tend to do so on the tops of trees. Although it is still winter, the sun has begun to come out and there have been warmer days. This is a way they are able to retain body heat, by allowing the sun and to heat their skin and trapping pockets of warmer air around their bodies.
These birds were budgeting their time by eating. I have gone to see them twice since my initial visit on the 5th, and every time they have been gorging on berries. They can be seen spending their time close by or with the American Robins and Pine Grosbeaks in the park also eating the berries/ berry seeds. I also observed these Bohemian Waxwings eating berries on the ground, which have been fermenting. This causes them to become drunk! You can tell which birds have consumed the fermented berries, as the drunk birds would fly much closer to me and seemed to care much less about my presence.
Their diets differ by season, as during the spring/summer they are able to divide their diet between bugs and berries. However, in the winter they are only able to feed on berries. This is why Tech Park is so useful for these birds, as the abundance of ornamental crabapples offer them a surplus of food. I believe that these birds would want to sleep in a thicker wooded area of Tech Park at night, out of open area to have more protection from harsh weather conditions and perhaps predators.
Mini Activity:
Q: Why are snags important, and what species are most likely to utilize them?
Snags are very valuable, as they offer many species of birds and other animals protection, an area for food storage, and nesting areas. Different bird species can utilize snags depending on their size. Larger species, like hawks and owls, can use them for hunting perches. Birds such as Tree Swallows and Great Horned Owls are likely to use snags as they are cavity nesters.
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