Centennial Woods Natural Area

For my first bird walk, I went to Centennial Woods Natural Area on Friday, January 29. I entered the woods around 2:00pm from the entrance just past UVM Police Services. The strategy that I adopted for this walk was to select spots in the woods with different tree species, percent canopy cover, and elevation in order to see how these factors might affect what species of birds are present. My first location for silent observation was in an area with a moderate amount of understory and mature white pines spaced far apart. I immediately spotted two Black-capped Chickadees which flitted from tree top to tree top. I watched them for approximately ten minutes, also hearing several other deep guttural calls off in the distance which sounded like Common Raven.

My next observation point was located at a slightly higher elevation than the first and had denser vegetation dominated by eastern hemlock and a much less developed understory. Once I started my observation, two small birds immediately caught my eye. They were small and gray with a crest and a chickadee-like body shape. This lead me to be able to identify them as Tufted Titmice. The birds exhibited very curious behavior and hopped from tree to tree, chirping in my direction. Soon they were joined by three more Titmice and also a few Black-capped Chickadees. After a fair amount of observation, I moved on to another observation point located at yet a higher elevation on top of a plateau. The tree cover was more open and mainly composed of hardwoods. I heard the distinct call of a Pileated Woodpecker, but never saw it. I then was able to make out the deep croaking of a Common Raven which soon flew overhead. The diamond-shaped tail provided further confirmation that it was in fact a Common Raven and not an American Crow.

My final observation point was located on the down-slope on the other side of the plateau that served as my previous observation site. It was at this location that I was able to spot five American Crows from a far distance. The tail shape, and harsh cawing is what enabled me to identify them to species. In addition, I think it is important to note that they were headed west toward Lake Champlain. I hypothesize that they may have been flying toward one of the common roosts which crows are known to congregate at during the nighttime.

Publicado el 06 de febrero de 2016 a las 10:33 PM por jpleonar