Field Journal #7

Colin Lach
FJ#8

This week I walked through a forested area near my house in Shelburne on Monday April 20th. Throughout my walk I was able to identify some birds and observe their behaviors in their natural environment. This week, the focus was territorial and nesting behaviors. The weather was roughly 46 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny with minor clouds. The path that I was walking through included semi-vegetated and forested areas which provided a prime opportunity to see a diverse group of birds. My walk and time spent observing lasted a little over an hour and a half from 2:20-3:57 pm.
Throughout my time in the forest behind the house I was able to identify a few different species of birds. I saw a small group of European Starling, and heard multiple woodpeckers but could not identify which kind they were. Also, I saw a tree which I believe had been subject to some substantial pecking from a woodpecker. To answer the prompts provided, I did research online regarding species that I have encountered in the past. I also observed a bird's nest that I knew was near my house to see the type of materials that are used to build a nest.
The nest that is near my house is very delicately built using small twigs, weeds and pine needles and about 10 feet in the air in a pine tree. It is quite close to my house in a small neighborhood in a pretty open area that is scattered with trees and vegetation. I came to the conclusion that it could be a Mourning Dove nest based on its composition and the fact that two Mourning Doves are often around my house. Doves start building their nests as early as March. When picking territory they prefer open land with a scattering of trees and shrubs for cover. When a male is ready to mate, he circles in a courtship flight and chases rivals in an area where he desires to nest. These birds are also very adaptable to more suburban areas which explains why they are okay with nesting so close to a house in a fairly big neighborhood. This differs compared to other birds that would rarely be found in an area like this.
As I said earlier the Mourning Dove’s nest was constructed using small twigs, weeds and pine needles. They are also known to use things as light as grass to build their nests and will even nest on the ground if needed. All of these things are easy to find in this area pine needles from the pine tree they’re in, grass and weeds from the ground and small twigs found everywhere. Apparently Mourning Doves will reuse nests of their own and from other individuals of their species if available. The nest that I was observing was very delicately constructed you could almost see through the bottom.
While walking through a more densely forested area on the edge of my neighborhood I could hear which I later found out to be “drumming” by two woodpeckers. They would alternate drumming on a tree, apparently they do this to either establish their territory or attract a mate. Because there were two of them doing this, maybe this was part of the mating process. However if this was the two woodpeckers fighting over territory, I would say that they must be pretty dominant in their environment because there's lots of space and lots of trees for them to hunt.

European Starling x3

Publicado el lunes, 27 de abril de 2020 a las 11:28 PM por colinlach colinlach

Observaciones

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Qué

Estornino Pinto (Sturnus vulgaris)

Autor

colinlach

Fecha

Abril 20, 2020 a las 07:26 PM EDT

Descripción

x3

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