Field Journal 5: Migration
Date: April 3rd, 2021
Weather: Sunny, 45 degrees, windy
Location: Ferry Beach Scarborough, ME
Habitat(s): Coastal beach and dunes, golf course, deciduous forest, estuary
I went to the beach in Maine for this field journal! Very exciting to see some birds in a different habitat. I also saw a harbor seal on the wharf. Of the birds that I saw, House Sparrows, Back-capped Chickadees, Herring Gulls, Mourning Doves, and likely Common Eiders are all residents to the area I was at in Maine. All of these birds other than the common eider are also resident species in Vermont. These resident birds have life histories and physical traits that allow them to live in Maine and Vermont year-round. The Herring Gulls and Common Eiders who often spend time in the water have counter current blood flow in their feet. This allows them to sit in frigid water during the winter without loosing too much heat out of these apteria. House sparrows and Chickadees make regular use of cavities during the winter to shelter them from the cold. They also have thick down feathers which trap heat close to the bird. Migration takes lots of energy so there are advantages to staying in the same place year round. Species that don't migrate must be able to survive the cold and find enough food during these winter months.
On the other hand, Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern Phoebes, and Great Egrets migrate to this area each year. Red-winged Blackbirds can be considered facultative migrants that tend to migrate only if winter conditions are particularly harsh. The areas that they are residents year round are very close to Vermont and even creep into parts of Southern Vermont. Eastern Phoebes are short distance migrants that migrate from Vermont to mid-latitude United States and into Central America. In Vermont they are obligate migrants because of the harsh winters. The Eastern Phoebe I saw may have been migrating from Florida, Georgia, or the Carolinas. Eastern Phoebes are flycatchers. So, in order to do well in Vermont, they need the insect populations here to blossom in the Spring before they make their migration back to their breeding grounds here. Species that migrate back to Burlington early have the advantages of setting up territories early and claiming nesting sites here earlier than other birds. This could be a huge advantage if they know where the best resources will be. With that being said, it is hard to predict this, so they might not pick the best areas.
Eastern phoebe (Central Florida -> Scarborough, Maine) 1223 miles
Great egret (Coastal North Carolina -> Scarborough, Maine) 681 miles
Red wing black bird (West Virginia -> Scarborough, Maine) 495 miles
These migrant species traveled a total of ~2399 miles to get from their wintering grounds to where I saw them in Scarborough Maine!
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