Field Journal 4
Abaigeal Carroll
Date: March 29, 2023
Start time: 2:15pm
End time: 3:20 pm
Location: Oakledge Park
Weather: Blue skies, slightly cloudy
Temp: 48 degrees F
Wind: 14 mph, NW
Precipitation: no precip
Habitats: Older Oak and pine forest, aquatic (freshwater)
Today on my bountiful bird walk I saw some new birds that I have yet to spot before! I challenged myself to try to spot the differences between the “little brown streaky birds” that I saw. I tried to notice the differences between the House Sparrow and the House Finch. I noticed that the House Sparrow had a skinnier beak as opposed to the house finch’s more broad beak that was lighter in color. Also House Sparrows have noticeably darker areas around the head while House Finches have more redness on their belly. I was really excited to see a Song Sparrow today and hear its song! They had quite a streaky nature to their call and I picked up on their call because of their trill notes. I was able to observe several White-breasted nuthatches interacting with each other. They were hanging on to the sides of trees in a really interesting manner and almost seemed able to hop along the tree vertically. They were also making 2 different sounds and seemed like they were talking to each other. As I was observing the White-breasted Nuthatch, I heard a super loud call from a Tufted Titmouse right next to where I was standing but I couldn’t see it.
I always noticed Black-capped Chickadees hanging out in trees together. They were also close to the water and I observed one eating some berries from a tree. There was also a Herring Gull that kept flying over me and calling out to another one that was in the distance. Perhaps it was looking for food. The most exciting observation that happened on this excursion was seeing a female and male Common Merganser! I was so excited when I looked out at the water and could see them bobbing up and down in the water. At first I thought they could be Mallards or Common Loons because I have seen them here before. I was overjoyed when I looked through my binoculars and could see that they were most definitely Common Mergansers. The first clue that helped me in my identification was the female’s brown color and crest. I couldn’t really notice any green on the male, perhaps it was the way the light was hitting him, but I could see how white his body was. They also have quite a long pointed beak with a little bit of black pigment at the end.
On the topic of migration, the White-breasted Nuthatch stays in Burlington all year and has some adaptations in order to do so. These birds stay warm by trapping pockets of air around their bodies. They can also huddle together in trees. Other birds like the Canada Goose are migrants and fly South to their non-breeding sites to avoid the cold. They migrate back North in April and May so it was a little early to see them.
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