Diario de tomdemouth

Bird Walk #7 UVM
It was a very nice Friday afternoon, I walked around UVM just looking around. It was very sunny without much wind. The temperature was boarding around 45.

Blue Jay x 3
Song Sparrow x 4
Herring Gull x ~10
Black-capped Chickadee x 8
Northern Cardinal x 4
Tree Swallow x 1
Canada Goose x 1
European Starling x 2

Monday April 20th, yesterday was an extremely nice day, I almost wore a hawaiian shirt, today I should have worn my winter jacket. Comparatively it is rather cold and dreary hovering around 45 degrees with slight breeze coming from the lake. The area isn't home to many birds, there is a human presence in both of the places I went. Both are flat parks with extreme edge habitat in and surrounding the area.
As far as nesting goes I am not seeing much behavior coordinating with that frame of mind, perhaps because it is so cold or because there isn't much material to be used around this area. However, after the mini-activity I did see an American Robin hop away with a small branch I assume is for its nest. I believe that most of the birds nests are down the hill towards the lake, it is a wooded area that would be a good location for bird nests that is where I saw the robin hopping towards. Blue Jays are year round occupants which suggests their nest doesn't need much work, just an added layer to reduce parasites and other unwanted inhabitants. American Robins can be migrants so they would require a whole new nest with both the parents working to help. They would want smaller material because they are a bit smaller and lay small eggs. The Mallards I saw flying overhead would likely be nesting elsewhere along the lake or down a tributary. They like dry grasses and a nice flat area rather than building a nest like a robin or jay would.
Sitting in battery park wasn't bad, there are benches so I chose one closer to the lake to attempt to hear the birds below the ledge. It was hard to distinguish different chirps that came from the same direction, the distinct calls from cardinals and chickadees were easier to follow. It was almost impossible to tell how many birds there were over the edge near the lake but behind me I believe there was 3 robins, 4 or 5 Black-capped Chickadees, 1 Northern Cardinal and 1 Blue Jay.

April 11th Danbury Connecticut, it was a clear sunny day but it was not warm, in the lower 40s. I took a nice long walk around suburban Danbury.

American Robin x 7
Mourning Dove x 1
European Starling x 4
Eastern Blue Bird x2
Canada Goose x ~15
American Crow x 4

Monday April 6th, the computer in my pocket says it's 50 degrees out, but I don't believe it. The morning is chilly and without comfort, Lone Rock Point is cold with wind coming from the lake. As I approach my favorite spot of lone rock point, near the shale and cliffs I begin to think about the prompt concerning migration.
The Blue Jay I saw not 10 minutes ago is a VT resident, perhaps it stays because it likes the local take out. Or perhaps it has built a nest that it calls home for many seasons and does not want to leave it behind. Either way it seems that the jay is here to stay. The jay's must have more down, or the ability to find comfortable temperatures in conifers or other plants. There was talk of pigeons staying in breeding condition all winter long because of the exhaust of buildings keeping their nests warm and feeding off anthropogenic sources. There might be birds that show signs of adaptation to exist in harsher climates based on humans.

Considering some of the migrant species, American Robin, Common Grackle, and Tree Swallows. The traveled somewhere in the range of 2,000 or more miles to get here. The robins don't have to migrate but some do come to Vermont for the summer. Common Grackle don't have to go far from their wintering grounds but it is still a couple hundred miles. Tree Swallows spend their winter south of Georgia so their travel is quite extensive to get all the way up here.

I went out on March 21st, it was a bitterly cold day out ranging just below freezing. There wasn't any precipitation but it was windy and cloudy out. I walked to Centennial woods from east ave down there was actually a high amount of bird activity for it being a cold and blistery day.

My birds were all grouped up and while, not chatting they were chirping back and forth. There are many audio clues that were audible including danger calls and warnings to, me the potential predator. I saw a Black-capped Chickadee as well as a Northern Cardinal, they each have an advantage in different ways. The chickadee can blend into the environment and is better at surviving predators, while the cardinal's color helps it to attract mates and show dominance.

While walking to the woods I encountered multiple American Robins all of whom looked like they were angry they came up this early to find Vermont still very cold. They did not appreciate the pishing. One thing that I noticed was their warning calls were social, each bird responded and when I got closer it got louder and a faster speed. Also it felt like the male robins were flying out in front of me attempting to distract me or something along those lines, they flew right in front of me just out of my reach multiple times. I am curious if they were attempting to protect any females or were they just playing a game with each other to see who could get closest to me.

While pishing I did feel rather foolish, and I am not very good at getting wildlife, especially birds, to do what I want alas it seemed to startle most of the chickadees I got near. However some of them where able to overcome the beard and forbearing posture and they came to see what in the world I was doing. The first times I tried to do it they flew away in fear but the time it worked they were curious about what I was doing. While pishing I tried to dig into the shhh sound and almost whistled it to sound more bird like.

It is indeed still winter, this Tuesday the 3rd of March was a blistery day with clear gray skies. At around 12:30 pm I went out to our beloved centennial woods. I went all the way to the commuter lot and was going into the farthest entrance to be among the conifers. While I was on my way there, still in sight of the Doubletree, I heard the soft cawing of an American crow, it was rather far away flying through the air heading northeast.
I wanted to head this way because it was an area with a lot of conifers and it also has a large opening for the telephone/electricity poles that run through it. The conifers because during the winter they are used to host the birds, sheltering them from the snow and rain. It also allows the birds to retain more body heat while hunting for seeds and winter berries. American Crow's might not have the same affiliation to conifers as the smaller birds do. The Black-capped Chickadee I saw later in the walk relies on them more.
As I walked through this part of the woods there are many many snags, the first one not 60 feet from the trail. It was an older snag the tree missing all the bark and there were many cavities, on just one side it had 16 cavities. All of the cavities were small and round looking like the same animal or same species made them. After this snag there were 11 more I saw along my walk, each showed signs of cavities made by a similar animal.
Snags are extremely important in terms of wildlife, as well as general forest health. They provide habitat to many insect species and help provide food for larger organisms, such as birds. The snags also eventually fall turning into downed woody debris which is important for similar reasons. As well as helping the forest retain nutrients, carbon, and can even be a nursery log for species such as yellow birch. Woodpeckers are a great example of birds that can use snags to feed and nest. Other animals use these cavities to nest as well as bats.