Diario de lhughes1953

10:43 am-12:01pm, 02/19/2023, centennial woods, cloudy and 41 degrees with wind, wooded area

Birding Narrative:
The spot was a wooded area surrounded by trees and next to a slow-moving creek. A few minutes into the start of the observations, multiple Black-capped Chickadees came to the area. I saw 5 Black-capped Chickadees flying from tree to tree and doing the chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee call. At the same time the Black-capped Chickadees were moving around the trees, a Downy Woodpecker was high up on the trunk of a tree. The Black-capped Chickadees then all flew away.

It then became difficult to see birds, but both Tufted Titmice and House Finches were vocal. I spotted one Tufted Titmouse high up in a tree. Although difficult to spot, the Tufted Titmouse/mice continued to be vocal off and on for the duration of the time. They mostly were doing their peter-peter-peter song. Several Black-capped Chickadees were also vocal doing a mix of fee-bee songs and chicka-dee-dee-dee calls. It sounded as if some were closer and some were much further away. There was also one screeching sound heard from a bird that I was unable to identify but after further inspection, I believe it was an uncommon Tufted Titmouse call.

I then spotted an American Crow flying overhead and shortly after I heard the caw of the American crow 3 separate times. The vocalizations of the Black-capped Chickadees then continued and the sound of meh-meh-meh of a White-breasted Nuthatch was audible for a few minutes. As the session ended, more Black-capped Chickadees and Tufted Titmice were vocal.

prompt 1:
The species I spent time specifically watching was the Black-capped Chickadee. I would describe their flight pattern as very bouncy. They would fly tiny bits at a time darting between branches and trees and jumping around. They never flew for long amounts of time. Their wing movements were a couple of quick flaps when moving in between branches or trees. Another species that I saw fly was the American Crow. The American Crow flew a large distance high in the sky. The crow had much slower and more graceful wing flaps than the Black-capped Chickadee. Black-capped Chickadees have small crescent shape wings (specifically elliptical wings), fly quick distances with quick wing flaps, and prefer open wooded habitats. American Crows have larger slightly more rectangular wings (specifically elliptical wings), fly further with slow graceful flaps, and prefer open areas. I think a relationship here is that birds with more crowded habitat niches (wooded forests) will tend to have smaller wings and quick flapping flight styles. This allows them to dart between trees more easily. Birds who like open spaces tend to have larger wings and fly greater distances because they have room to do so. You could use a bird's flapping to identify it by being aware of its flight pattern. If you are unsure of what bird you are seeing but recognize the flight pattern you see as belonging to a specific bird you could then identify the bird.

1:30 - 3 pm, 2/27/22, Ethan Allen Homestead, partly cloudy and 25 degrees, wooded area.

Trip Narrative: Immediately when leaving the parking lot and starting to walk on the trail a Black-capped Chickadee flew in front of me moving between trees. It then flew away but I continued to hear a Black-capped Chickadee call for the next couple of minutes. While continuing on the path toward the water, I heard a bird singing for quite a few minutes but I was unfamiliar with the name of the bird. The bird sounded like a frog and upon further observation through a sound recording, I identified the bird as a Hooded Merganser. I then heard the cawing of American Crows and saw one fly across the sky.

I then walked by the water and stood there for a while and heard a few more American Crows and a repeated chirping call, which I later identified as a Brown Creeper. I walked from the water up by the homestead and then saw a Brown Creeper bouncing around on the trunk of a tree. It stayed for a while and was totally silent. It blended in very well with the tree but I was able to take a photo of it. In the same location, I hear a meh-meh-meh of White-breasted Nuthatch but never saw it.

I then walked more through the woods away from the water and heard both an American Crow and a Black-capped Chickadee. I stood in an area of the woods for a while and a flock of seven small birds flew in a V formation and landed high up on a tree in from of me. They stayed there for a long time and made trilling calls. I was unsure of the type of bird they were but I was able to look at them through binoculars, take pictures, and record their sounds. Through the binoculars, I was able to observe a reddish crest, a yellow/orangish tail, and an off-white underbelly. I was able to google these observations and found that the Bohemian Waxwing matched the birds I was seeing. I was then able to confirm this ID through the merlin bird sound id.

Prompt 1-winter: One thing birds do in the winter to keep warm is to preen using the uropygial gland to keep their feathers water resistant. Birds also roost together to stay warm. Large murders of crows will roost together in the winter to remain warm. Birds budget their time in the winter by roosting and foraging for food instead of breeding and raising young. Winter birds such as Black-capped Chickadees spend great amounts of time in the day foraging for food and hiding food before resting at night. Many birds who eat things like insects, buds, berries, and seeds may switch their diet to fruits and nuts, which are more available in the winter. The Bohemian Waxwings eat insects in fruit in the breeding season and summer months but eat almost entirely fruit in the winter months. They gather in flocks and search for fruit. In the winter, they usually start out in Canada but often fly to Vermont when food sources are scarce to find more fruit and berries. The Brown Creeper also often eats insects in the summer but will eat mostly seeds and nuts in the winter. In this specific area, birds most likely go into tree cavities overnight. For example, Black-capped Chickadees usually roost inside of tree hallows and nuthatches usually roost in unused woodpecker holes.

Mini-Activity: Snags are important because they provide roosting and denning places for animals. The most common animals to utilize these are birds, raccoons, and squirrels. The snags provide both warmth and protection from predation for these animals.