Diario de mrgorton

Today, on April 7th, 2017, at 5:48 a.m., I went on a walk at North Beach in Burlington Vermont. The temperature was 39°F and it was raining. The wind was blowing in a southerly direction at 5 mph. This was by far the earliest birding expedition that I have undertaken in quite some time. I chose to go birding before dawn so I could see if the activity level differed from the afternoons.

The bird activity started much earlier than I anticipated. I heard a flock of European Starling causing a ruckus before I even departed my apartment. I took this as a good omen and anticipated seeing an abundance of birds. When I arrived at the North Beach parking lot, I noticed multiple American Robin signing from some brush. I could not see them due to the dimly lit sky and I didn’t want to turn my spotlight on and risk spooking them. As I walked on the trail towards the water I heard 2 Mallards quacking as they flew above me. They seemed eager to get into the water. Their eagerness made me wonder if there was a predator present, this appeared to be the case. Just as the Mallards where setting down in the water, some dogs started barking at them, flushing the Mallards up once again. The dogs quickly grew tired of harassing the Mallards and went on their way. After waiting 5 minutes or so, the duck activity significantly increased. 6 more Mallards decided to fly overhead and set down in the bay. However, they didn’t stay long, due to me scaring them away.

As soon as the sun rose, North Beach seemed to be a hotspot for bird activity. I heard a bunch of American Crow in the distance, the distinctive “peter-peter-peter” of the Tufted Titmouse, and the “chickadee-dee-dee” of a few curious Black-capped Chickadee. I heard and saw a couple of Ring-billed Gulls flying over the waves and then foraging for food on the beach. Among the waves, about 100 meters away, I noticed 2 Common Merganser drakes and 1 Common Merganser hen. The drakes appeared to be displaying some sort of ritualized behavior, possibly competing over the hen. 2 Canada Geese were hanging out closer to shore, contemplating if I was a threat. The most peculiar behavior I observed was of an American Robin. I heard the little fella singing in some cedar trees and then out of nowhere it would fly onto the pavement path leading to the parking lot, pick up a worm, and then proceed to gobble it up. It repeated this procedure multiple times. This seemed to be an extremely efficient foraging pattern, especially in the rain.

It was interesting to think of the reasons why birds decide to migrate. It makes sense that the Black-capped Chickadees don’t migrate. They are able to survive off of small amounts of food from bird feeders and the remaining seeds on trees, such as sumac. They are not picky when it comes to survival, they have been known to feed out of human hands during the winter months. The Black-capped Chickadees are also proficient at stock piling food for later. Black-capped Chickadees are also able to survive the cold winter, due to their ability to go into torpor, allowing them to conserve energy.

On the other hand species like the Common Merganser must migrate south, where there is open water. Common Merganser are diving ducks, so it is important that the ice is gone on the lakes and rivers for them to feed. The warmer weather has facilitated the arrival of the Common Merganser and other waterfowl. I am assuming the Common Mergansers have slowly worked their way up north, following the retreat of the ice and snow. Other birds, such as Peregrine Falcons may be arriving in uneven ratios of males to females. The Males may have migrated a lesser distance than the females to ensure that they would arrive sooner than the competition, guaranteeing them an optimal nesting site. This will make them more attractive to the females and in turn more reproductively successful. However, there may be a lack of food from arriving early, which could also negatively affect their fitness.

On April 14th, 2017, at 11:30 a.m., I went on a birding excursion at North Beach in Burlington Vermont. The temperature was 52°F and it was sunny. The wind was blowing North-northwest at 3 mph. North Beach consists of areas covered in beach sand, maintained grass lawns, swamps, and thin woodlands. Most of my observations took place at the shoreline, to facilitate my obsession with waterfowl. I decided to visit North Beach for the second time to see if there was a difference in bird activity mid-day, in comparison with sunrise. I found that the birds were more active at sunrise than mid-day.

Today, on April 28th, 2017, at 11:10 a.m., I decided to explore the Burlington Bike Path in Burlington and Colchester Vermont. The temperature was 68°F and it was cloudy. The wind was blowing in a North Northwest direction at 8 mph.

The first birds that I ran into along the bike path were a pair of Mourning Doves. They were splitting their time between foraging and interacting with each other in a residential yard. After noticing the Mourning Doves, the whole landscape seemed to come alive. It sounded like I was surrounded by an orchestra of birds. I heard many birds that I was familiar with, such as Red-eyed Vireo, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Black-capped Chickadees. There were also no shortages of bird songs that I was unfamiliar with. It was truly a beautiful spectacle to hear.

There appeared to be a clear divide between the territories that the birds occupied. The Red-winged Blackbirds, Tree Swallows, and Rock Pigeons appeared to prefer open habitats. The song birds preferred the wooded habitats and the American Robin and Common Grackle preferred the more residential areas, while the waterfowl obviously preferred the wetland areas. While I was walking, I heard what I thought were Canada Geese honking and a dog barking. I believed that a dog was attacking one of the Canada Geese that I saw. So I rushed over to observe what was happening. I was shocked to see three Canada Geese aggressively fighting each other. I have never seen or heard of this happening, so I was extremely excited to witness this awesome event. I am not sure why they were fighting, but I believe that they may have been fighting over a female.

One species that truly stood out to me was the vocal Red-winged Blackbirds, their songs dominated the landscape. I observed one male Red-winged Blackbird chase away an inferior Red-winged Blackbird away from his territory. Compared to the inferior bird, the superior bird had a much larger red patch on its wing. After the superior bird chased away his would be usurper, he circled his territory, landed on a cattail, and started signing again. His territory was located on the edge of the Winooski River and it was approximately 30 meters by 30 meters in area. This territory was open allowing for his song to carry, filled with grass, and could potential support numerous female Red-winged Blackbirds. This active defense of a pristine territory indicates that this individual Red-winged Blackbird had excellent fitness. I also saw another Red-winged Blackbird defending his territory in a swampy woodlot. It seemed as though he had no competition for this poor territory and I believe that he didn’t have any interested suitors, which could possibly be due to his song being muffled. I wouldn’t say that this bird was in poor condition, however he wasn’t as fit as the previously mentioned Red-winged Blackbird.

Another species that was exhibiting interesting behavior was the Northern Cardinals. I saw a male Northern Cardinal defending a female. The male was a few meters away from the female, singing his song and foraging for nest materials. Every now and then, the male would bring a stick to the female who was performing busy work inside a buckthorn thicket. This pair of Northern Cardinals occupied an area in the woods and seemed to collect most of their nesting materials from the surrounding area. Out of curiosity I decided to mimic the male Northern Cardinals song. At first he humored me and responded back, but after a short period of conversation, he seemed to become irritated. He stopped answering and went back to work.

I would say that this expedition was a great success. Not only did I get to enjoy the beautiful weather, but I was also able to make a bunch of valuable observations. I feel as though I now have a better understanding and appreciation for the avian world.