4/24/2023
Start: 7:26 AM
End: 9:02 AM
Location: 295 Maple Street Burlington, VT
Temperature: 44°F
Weather: Partly cloudy, bright and sunny, slight breeze. Had been very warm all weekend, mid to high 70s. Ground was dry, grass growing in very lush and green, some mud/ dirt exposed.
Habitat: Suburban area, light traffic, heavy foot traffic, lots of med to very tall trees, in immediate area and along rest of street. Tall trees, still pretty bare but greenery beginning to grow in. Lots of short shrubbery around, mostly grown in.
The past weekend I had been out on my porch most of the day enjoying the warm weather and sunshine and the abundance of birds! All weekend I had been hearing lots of bird activity, especially in the morning so I decided to wake up early and listen for a while before class. As soon as I woke up around 7:15 AM, I heard the distinct calls of a Tufted Titmouse, Northern Cardinals, and American Robins. I have been hearing and seeing American Robins around this tall pine looking tree, which has had green foliage all winter pretty much and looks especially lush. This morning I heard lots of loud Robin chatter and song from this tree. I could not locate a nest with my binoculars but I saw one American Robin fly pretty high into the tree while singing quite loudly. I heard Robin chatter coming from the tree before this and a bit louder as the flying one approached.
A bit later around 7:40AM, I saw 2 Northern Cardinals flying together North to South and up into a super tall, completely bare. I had been hearing the loud trill song of a Northern Cardinal since I woke up and they seemed to be flying in that direction. One was noticeably lighter and more brown, yet still bright red, clearly a female Cardinal, especially considering the proximity and chemistry the two birds shared as they flew by. Closer to 8 AM, I heard an interesting call I hadn't heard before, a few quick repetitive notes of the same pitch and then a quick dip ending with a higher note. I began recording using the Merlin Bird ID app and it identified this song as a Ruby-crowned Kinglet several times over the course of the hour and a half that I was observing. I was quite surprised but it made sense based on the information and calls we had studied in class. One call was much louder and more fine tuned compared to the quieter, messier call that followed shortly after sometimes. They both seemed to be coming from the same direction, West toward Lake Champlain, perhaps in some neighboring trees. As the traffic, both cars and feet, picked up, I started to hear some Black-capped Chickadees, but they sounded like they were moving around a bit, not necessarily staying in one spot. I often see Black-capped Chickadees fleeting around in pairs or groups, hopping from tree to tree. After hearing their calls for a few minutes, I saw 2 tiny birds flying East to West very haphazardly, yet with lots of grace and agility, I figured these were those same Chickadees I had been hearing.
At 8:25AM, I heard what sounded like a House Sparrow chattering away across the street. I am fairly confident there is a nest of House Sparrows and or House Finches across the street in a tall pine tree. After determining I was hearing a House Sparrow and not a Song Sparrow, I used Merlin Bird ID to record and identify the calls and the app identified them as a House Sparrow! For the remaining time I sat outside, for about another 40 minutes, I continued to hear a mixed chorus of all of these birds, overlapping, varying in pitch and volume. At around 8:50PM, I saw a bit of commotion around this tall Pine tree. 2 large Black birds, maybe American Crows? were flying around overhead, and then landed in a branch fairly high up. I heard the House Sparrow chatter get very loud and faster. The black birds hung around a bit moving from branch to branch and flapping their wings, but they eventually left after lots more squawking from the Sparrows. Very loud, trill, and scrambled. Additionally, I heard a Blue Jay briefly, its deep chortle? like call a few times in a span of a few minutes, but did not hear it again afterwards. I also heard lots of European Starlings, coming from all directions it sounded like. At one point earlier on, I saw a single European Starling perched high in the tree where the Cardinals flew to, calling out rather intensely and for a long period of time. It sounded a bit frantic as it looked around, squawking is all directions. I was fairly certain this was a Starling and not a Crow because if its bright yellow beak and its varied calls. I later saw 2 European Starlings flying around a bit, eventually landing in atop the tall pine that the Robins were posted up in. When they arrived, the Robins went quiet for a bit and then began squawking out pretty intensely. The European Starlings did not stick around for very long and flew West, although I think I saw this pair again later on.
I was so pleasantly surprised to hear so much activity this morning. Because I had been seeing and hearing these same birds in the same trees over the past few weeks and days, I can infer that I saw and heard lots of territorial centric behaviors. Birds occupying certain trees would overtake that sound zone in a a way, and get louder when other birds approached. I think because they have been here for a bit and because of the abundance of resources (worms, insects, human trash, compost, dry brush perfect for nesting, etc.) these birds are probably defending prime territory, indicating their physical fitness. It was interesting to hear the different variations in sound and pitch between individuals of the same species, one typically resembling a less mature bird practicing with a parent. At least thats how I interpreted it!
gushay
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