Bird walk in Centennial

Date: Feb 23 2024
Start time: 11:15 am
End time: 12:15 pm
Location: Centennial woods
Weather: sunny, clear sky, slight breeze, 43 degrees, no precipitation
Habitat: Dense eastern white pine stand and surrounding hardwood forest

Since it was a warm, sunny day in Centennial woods, there was a lot of bird activity. From the moment I walked into the woods I could hear at least three different types of birds all at once. When I first started down the path I was amazed at how many Black-capped Chickadees there were foraging on the ground and flying from tree to tree. I would imagine that during the winter when it is snowy these birds might not be able to forage on the ground very often. I would assume that during the warmth, with no snow cover, they are taking advantage of the exposed ground for food. In the winter they must rely on food from standing trees and snags.
As I made my way to the eastern white pine stand in the northern region of Centennial woods. I went this way because I know there is a lot of downed wood and standing snag in this area. As I walked through the stand I noticed that the larger snags had bigger cavities and tht these cavities were more frequent. Most of the snags in this area were at least 10” in DBH creating ample habitat for wildlife. I tried hitting some of the snags with sticks but no birds poked their heads out when I did this. I would assume this is because they are out foraging and taking advantage of the warmth. I did see a woodpecker on a live tree in this stand. It was drumming on the tree to find insects in the bark. Although this woodpecker wasn’t utilizing a snag when I saw it, I am sure it prefers this area due to the high volume of snags.
Snags create great habitat for birds. These dead trees can be filled with insects that make a great food source for birds. Additionally, their cavities can act as shelter. These cavities can be either natural or the birds can make them in a desired location. Although snags can be beneficial to all birds, insectivores like woodpeckers and cavities nesters including nuthatches. Tall snags can even act as a vantage point for birds of prey like hawks. These snags are probably important for ground foraging birds like the Chickadee in the winter as a food source when the ground is covered in snow. As a person who studies forestry and plans to have a career in forest management I think that snags are so interesting because they bring together forest management and wildlife. Snags are important to have on the landscape because of all of these benefits they provide to bird species.

Publicado el 23 de febrero de 2024 por juliapolvino