Journal Entry #2

Bailey Smith
3/8/21
This bird watch took place on 3/8/21 at 3:00 to 4:30 pm in Ferrisburgh Vermont. The location in which this bird watch took place was at my house in my backyard. I was walking around my backyard trying to locate as many species as I could. The temperature was about 25 degrees, with little wind coming from the north and sunny skies. The habitats that were available were woodland habitats with mainly maple and oak trees, shrub habitat, and open habitats. There were shrubs, trees, and open agricultural fields. During this bird watch, I was able to locate only 3 bird species, the Eastern Crow, European Starling, and the House Sparrow.
Most of the Eastern Crow population will migrate south for breeding. These crows will then migrate back north to where they came from in the month of March or April. These crows will actually go to the same areas in the winter year after year, no matter what the environmental changes are. Basing crows off of evolution, they always migrate south about 500 kilometers or so. They have always migrated and always will just like most bird species. Crows will eat just about anything they can in the winter, but mostly the eat on grains that they find on the ground. Crows will tuck their wings, and gather up in big flocks tight together to keep their body temperatures up. Crows spend most of their time feeding. Whenever you see groups of crows specifically in the winter, they are always trying to find food. When they aren't feeding, they are roosting. Crows will overnight in tall trees. In other months, they will feed on fruits, berries, human food, and small insects.

The European Starling also heads south to migrate during the breeding season. These flocks are big when they migrate, but will then split up to breed. The males will show off their songs, trying to find a female to breed with. These starlings evolved from Europe, but they originated in the United States by 100 of them being let loose in New York City. They started evolving slow, but quickly took off all over the United States. The starling will feed on insects in the soil if they can penetrate the soil with their bills. They will feed on fruits in trees, and will sometimes feed on flying insects in the air. They mainly feed on insects, fruits, and seeds wherever they can find them. During the winter, the males spend most of their time breeding and feeding. They will sit next to a nest site and use their mating calls to attract a female. In the times where they are not breeding, they are feeding and sleeping, but their main concerns are breeding. Both the male and females retain body heat my feeding often, and always moving around, whether that's flying or walking around finding food. Starlings will group together often in one tree or a couple trees, roosting close together at night.
The house sparrow rarely migrates south very far. They occasionally migrate in small distances. They like to stay in their home ranges all year round where they are familiar with. House sparrows can digest just about anything, so their diets are very wide varied. They mainly feed on grains that they can find on the ground. House Sparrows will build their nests in the same spots as previous years. The males will sit outside of the nest and exhibit loud aggressive mating sounds to attract females. They only pair up with one mate, often staying with them for multiple years. After much research, there is little to no variation in the House Sparrow population to other North American bird species. Microsatellite data has allowed researches to collect most of their data on this species. These birds will nest in places that are warm, such as the sidings to homes, and barns. The House Sparrow is similar to the European Starling, in how they spend most of their time. They spend most of their time feeding and breeding, while they rest only a little bit. During the winter, they are scrounging for food, but mainly eating seeds. In the warmer months, they feed on berries, seeds, insects, discarded food, and mixed bird seed. The House Sparrow will overnight either in trees, or shrubs most of the time.

Publicado el 08 de marzo de 2021 a las 03:10 AM por basmith1