FJ7: Reproductive Ecology and Evolution - Jack Wallace

Date - April 24, 2021
Start time -4:00 PM
End time -6:00 PM
Location -North Beach Park Burlington, VT
Weather (temperature, wind speed/direction, precipitation) - Partly Cloudy, 0-3 knots of wind W/NW, 55-60 Degrease F
Habitat(s) -Waterfront beach, grassy field, marsh, small forest.

When we arrived to North Beach the sun had started to go behind the clouds however it still remained very bright out. There was no wind and the lake was perfectly flat. Walking down the path to the beach American Robins were scattered all over the grass. They would hop around a little, pick at the grass and eventually fly away with something in their mouth. Walking a little farther we reached the wooded part of the park near the playground. When walking in there we saw a bird fly across our path and land on a tree branch. After walking around to get a better look we realized it was a Downy Woodpecker. It let us get surprisingly close as it hopped up and down the tree limb before flying off. On the other side of the woods is the marsh part of the park. Right when we got there the only bird call I kept hearing was that of the Red-winged Blackbird. Sitting on the tops of Cattails were about 8-10 Red-winged Blackbird that would make their call, fly off to the edge of the woods, and then after a while back to the Cattail. Additionally we were able to see a large Turkey Vulture hanging in the thermals above the park. We watched it do a few circles before we realized it had 2 American Crows flying after it. They seemed to be trading off diving down on it but oddly enough the Vulture seemed unfazed.

All of the Red-winged Blackbirds appeared to be nesting together in the relatively small patch of marsh. Red-winged Blackbirds keep their nests close to the ground/water, so it seemed like the males for each nest stayed on the top of the cattail above their nest in order to protect their eggs. Their calls seemed to just be a general warning that they where there to protect their nest. The Females were not visible since they tend to jump around closer to the ground in the marsh grass. In contrast to the Red-winged Blackbird, the American Robin seemed to be more comfortable leaving its nest. The Robin prefers nesting off the ground and because of that they need to bring nesting material to their preferred location in a tree. That is what we were witnessing, the Robins were picking through the grass for dry strong pieces of grass to weave into a nest.

Publicado el 26 de abril de 2021 por jwally325