Journal Entry 19
Birds and Waterfowl presentation 5/29
Weather: warm and sunny.
Today we again met at the Union Bay Natural Area to hear the presentations of the birds and waterfowl groups. On our walk with the birds group first, we walked all around the area in search of whatever birds we could come across. We managed to see a great number of red-winged black birds, black capped chickadees, violet-green swallows, song sparrows, and barn swallows. We observed the behaviors of the varying species, which revealed some interesting habits of each. The larger and more numerous species in the, like the red-winged blackbirds, were by far the most conspicuous. Standing atop branches in steadfast guard of their territory, they would often call to others of their same species and fly around to chase out the smaller birds that wandered in to their habitats. They had a very conspicuous call as well, with a trill, electronic sound coming from their territory establishing calls. The black capped chickadees, we learned, were the very common type of chickadee that is seen all across the continental US, throughout cities and wildlife areas and with the distinct “chicka-dee-dee-dee” call. The tour was very informative, and I was very impressed with the ability of the guides to find material to relay to the groups, despite not being constantly around birds.
The waterfowl group was also interesting, however most of the birds they spoke of were quite well known to the class. They taught about the Canada geese which are common throughout this area during the spring and summer when the weather is nice, but who then migrate in the winter. Also, the great blue heron was also discussed. The most interesting fact about the great blue heron is that despite its tendency to live around water during the day, it nests in trees on land by night, like those in the heron rookery on campus. Some lesser known species that the group elaborated on were buffleheads, the smallest ducks in the region that are small enough to nest in the cavities of woodpeckers in the north. They are, unlike most waterfowl, monogamous. Some more common ducks in the areas, besides the well known mallard ducks, are the similar in appearance ducks like the northern shovelers, or the blue or green-winged teals. The females of all these species have similar brown patterns of feathers, and the male mallards and shovelers have iridescent green heads with several colors on the body, which can make distinguishing these species confusing. The best way to distinguish between these is to look for a part of the wing whose feathers are uniquely colored for each species, called the speculum, violet-blue on the mallard, green on the green-winged teal, and green on the shoveler, and white on the buffleheads.
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