Field Journal 4 Social Behavior and Phenology

On March 24th I went out birding from 2:30 to 4:00 in the Malone Memorial Recreation Park and along the Salmon River. The weather was quite pleasant and the snow that had come yesterday had melted off for the most part. The temperature was around 38 degrees Fahrenheit with partly sunny skies and a very slight west breeze.

Prior to the inch or two of snow that came on the 23rd of March the birds had been becoming much more active. They were not as active today as they had been in the preceding week but I anticipate that there activity will pick back up throughout the week. The first birds I encountered were a pair of Downy Woodpeckers. They were both foraging on some snags on the edge of a clearing. Both of the Downy Woodpeckers I observed were males with the distinctive red patches on the back of their heads. I came across a group of 12 American Robins. With the start of spring and a wider access to food the robins were no longer congregating around a shared food resource such as a fruit tree. This particular group were spread out across the ground presumably foraging.

Along the Salmon River which flows through the village of Malone I observed a large group of Canada Geese and several Mallards. In terms of plumage it appears that the Canada Goose has a counter shading style with dark brown, tan colors on their back and white on their belly. This dark coloration on their back could provide a level of camouflage with the ground and their white bellies would reflect the color of their surroundings enhancing their protection. The plumage style of the Canada Goose can be contrasted to the Mallard. The female mallard has what I would call a cryptic coloration pattern with a tan body with dark brown streaking throughout. Presumably this would also aid in hiding them from predators similar to the Canada Goose plumage. This plumage style of the female Mallard would also be quite effective when they are nesting. The plumage color of the male Mallard however is quite different. The males have a more solid grey body color with a rich brown chest. The most distinctive feature was their bright green heads. I would guess that this prominent head coloration would serve two features for male Mallards. First it may help attract a female and secondly while the female is sitting on the nest the more visible male Mallard would be more easily spotted by predators and thus could guide predators away from the nest.

The Canada Geese were resting for the most part on a several of the small islands in the river. However several of the Geese were very aggressive. One Canada Goose in particular was lowering his head and extending his neck out in front of his body while raising his wings up over his back. This goose then proceeded to chase several other geese out of his area on the shore. I would guess that this was a dominant male chasing off several juvenile males. I would also presume that mating season has started or is close to starting for the Canada Geese in this region of NY. The goose who was chasing off several other geese was presumably trying to defend his mate or his potential access to a mate. Canada geese mate once a year in the spring. The lengthening of the days and the warming temperatures most likely triggered the territorial behavior among the Canada Geese I observed as they prepare to enter the mating and breeding season.

After observing the first Black-capped Chickadee I saw today I attempted several pish calls to see if I could draw out any other Chickadees. It didn't really seem to work although I did see several more Chickadees not long afterwards. In terms of why sphishing works on Chickadees and other small birds I would guess that they are being startled more than attracted. I would guess that this sound might be alarming to Chickadees either mimicking another birds alarm call or that of a potential predator. The sound doesn't seem to scare off the birds more than it seems to agitate them until ceased. The Chickadees might wish to alert their kin or neighbors to a potential threat and thus become agitated at the sound of pish calls.

Publicado el 24 de marzo de 2020 por tsshafer tsshafer

Observaciones

Fotos / Sonidos

No hay fotos o sonidos

Qué

Carpintero Velloso-Menor (Dryobates pubescens)

Observ.

tsshafer

Fecha

Marzo 24, 2020

Fotos / Sonidos

No hay fotos o sonidos

Qué

Mirlo Primavera (Turdus migratorius)

Observ.

tsshafer

Fecha

Marzo 24, 2020

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Carbonero de Capucha Negra (Poecile atricapillus)

Observ.

tsshafer

Fecha

Marzo 24, 2020

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Cuervo Norteamericano (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

Observ.

tsshafer

Fecha

Marzo 24, 2020

Fotos / Sonidos

No hay fotos o sonidos

Qué

Ánade Real (Anas platyrhynchos)

Observ.

tsshafer

Fecha

Marzo 24, 2020

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Ganso Canadiense Mayor (Branta canadensis)

Observ.

tsshafer

Fecha

Marzo 24, 2020

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Vida Silvestre es una entidad asociada a la Organización Mundial de Conservación