Field Journal Assignment #4

12:05-1:45pm, 03/07/2023, Centennial Woods, 25 degrees and cloudy (snowing lightly), wooded area

I began my trip just outside the centennial woods nature area. I saw about 5 American Robins and 3 Black-capped Chickadees bouncing around trees. The robins were silent but the chickadees said a few chirps here and there. I watched them for a while and then they all flew away. When I made a pish sound it seemed to startle the robins.

I then went a little further into the woods and came across a Black-capped Chickadee darting around a bundle of sticks and branches at the bottom of a tree. I watched the chickadee for a long time and took some pictures and videos. The chickadee was silent but I could hear other Black-capped Chickadees singing around me. I then made the pish noises and after I would make the sound the chickadee began doing the chicka-dee-dee-dee call and moved around a lot faster. After a while of watching the chickadee, it flew away.

I then kept walking in the woods and continued to hear Black-capped Chickadees and also heard a Fish Crow. I originally thought that this crow might be an American Crow but the call did not sound quite right. After using Merlin bird ID, I was able to identify the crow as a Fish Crow.

I continued to walk in the woods and heard a very clear and loud sound of a Tufted Titmouse. While the Tufted Titmouse continued to sing a White-breasted Nuthatch, Black-capped Chickadee, and Northern Cardinal could also be heard. It seemed as if they were responding to the Tufted Titmouse because when it would stop for a moment another species of bird would sing and then Tufted Titmouse would sing again. The Northern Cardinal then sang on its own when the Tufted Titmouse could no longer be heard. As I completed my bird walk, I continued to hear chirps of Black-capped Chickadees here and there.

Prompt # 1: The first interactions I saw between birds were American Robins and Black-capped Chickadees They both were moving around the same group of trees but the robins were higher up in the trees than the chickadees. I think that both species were foraging for red berries that were around and in trees. The other interactions that I observed between species were the Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, and White-breasted Nuthatch responding to the loud song of the Tufted Titmouse. I think that they most likely communicate about the presence of predators or food. The two birds that I could see the plumages of were the Black-capped Chickadees and the American Robins. The chickadees are white with a black cap and the robins have an orange underbelly and are brown on top. One thing I noticed about both of these species, is that they are very difficult to photograph. Chickadees blend in with snow and branches and the tops of robins blend in with branches and trees. Therefore, being camouflaged from predators may be an evolutionary advantage of the plumages of these birds. The bird that I saw the most was the Black-capped Chickadee. They mostly seemed to be foraging when I saw them. This makes sense for their circadian rhythm because chickadees tend to forage all day in the winter and roost at night.

I think that pishing works because birds are curious about the sound. The sound resembles a predator or another bird rusting around. Birds come close to the sound to investigate. When I made a pish sound by a Black-capped Chickadee it came closer and also began doing the chicka-dee-dee-dee call. In this circumstance, the chickadee probably assumed the sound may be a predator and wanted to get a closer look and alert other chickadees to my presence.

Publicado el 07 de marzo de 2023 a las 09:28 PM por lhughes1953