Diario de jgordon

I participated in the WFB 130 bird walk on Thursday, 4/14. The morning started at 7:30am, when we went to the parking lot outside Jeffords to observe a large flock of Bohemian Waxwings (and maybe some Cedar Waxwings). Many of them were flying on an off a tree, foraging for the fruit. A large flock was drinking from a muddy water puddle in the parking lot, and flew off every time a car drove by.

We then went to the boat ramp at Shelburne Bay. We were greeted by the songs of the Song Sparrow and Red-winged Blackbird. We saw an Eastern Phoebe, an early spring insectivore migrant, perched on a tree. Out on Lake Champlain, we observed several Ring-billed Gulls, Buffleheads, Common Mergansers, and Double Crested Cormorants. The Buffleheads and Common Mergansers kept a good distance from the shore. Just north of the boat ramp, we saw a few Tree Swallows with their distinctive "fluttering" flight pattern low to the ground/water surface, probably foraging for insects. A Turkey Vulture was seen in flight, identified from the white on the underside of the wings and the v-shaped wing span.

We crossed the road and headed over to the wetland adjacent to the La Platte River. A few American Goldfinches were perched on a tree and calling at the trail entrance. We could identify their notable "po-ta-to-chip" sound within their call. We spotted a male Wood Duck near the river, with its clown-like plumage. We walked further into the trail and stopped to listen for a few minutes. I could identify a Common Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird, Downy Woodpecker, American Robin, Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, and Black-capped Chickadee by their vocalizations. I also heard two unfamiliar calls, which ended up being the shrill call of a Red Bellied Woodpecker and the loud rattle of the Northern Flicker. I was also able to locate a Downy Woodpecker foraging on a tree. A Red-tailed Hawk and some Canada Geese were also visible from across the river.

On Sunday, March 27th at 10am, it was about 35ºF outside, sunny and slightly breezy at Derway Island in Burlington, VT. The morning started along the wetland, with a view of a 2 male and 1 female Wood Ducks in on the water in between two trees. I was quiet and kept my distance, as to not scare these timid birds away. As I entered the forested area, there was an overwhelming surplus of bird calls and songs. It was relatively hard to identify individuals within the mix. I was able to pick out vocalizations from a Red-winged Blackbird, Song Sparrow, Woodpecker(Downy or Hairy), American Robin, Northern Cardinal, Common Grackle, and a White-breasted Nuthatch. I then heard an American Goldfinch, and about 4 or 5 came into site. As I walked further into the woods, I saw a Hairy Woodpecker pecking on a pine tree limb. I saw a duck (species unknown) flying overhead. An American Robin flew on a thin vine-like tree limb, and started singing. Robin songs were heard frequently throughout the morning. A Downy Woodpecker was spotted on a Boxelder by the shore of the river. I listened some more and heard the "peter" song of a Tufted Titmouse, the song of a Black-capped Chickadee, the drumming of a woodpecker in the distance, and a Brown Creeper song. I heard a Pileated Woodpecker's "wuk wuk" from afar. As I was looking out onto the river, a Song Sparrow approached roughly 10 feet away. I was able to identify its song with the notable 3 introductory notes, followed by some variation in tone and frequency. I then saw 2 Red-tailed Hawks flying overhead, circling above the river. I heard the repetitive song of a Dark-eyed Junco, but never visually located it. As I was leaving the forest, I came across a Bohemian Waxwing on a tree branch, noted for its grey/rusty plumage. Finally, I saw a woodpecker which didn't look like any of the familiar Downy, Hairy or Pileated. I got a closer look and noticed a red head, a black and white checkered wing pattern, and a body shape and size similar to the Hairy Woodpecker- it turned out to be a Red-bellied Woodpecker. Overall, a very exciting morning of bird watching with many new species appearing as spring starts to come.

On the morning of Saturday, March 6th at around 9am, I went to the Lake Champlain lakefront to observe waterfowl. I started at the dock by the Rubenstein lab, and saw a flock of about 10-15 Ring-billed Gulls roughly 30 meters from the shore. Most were floating on the water, although occasionally one Gull would fly downwards towards the flock while calling loudly. Perhaps a food source was found nearby? A few meters away from the Ring-billed Gulls, 8 Mallards- 6 males and 2 females were lined up very close to each other (under a foot away?) on the lake. Further out, about a few hundred meters away from the lakeshore, 4-5 Common Mergansers were swimming in a straight line.The male was in the front of the line. At the dock, just a few meters from me, two Rock Pigeons began aggressively fighting each other. At first it appeared that they were preening each other, however they started grunting at each other, flapping there wings directly on top of each other, and digging their bills into the other pigeon's head and neck. They may have been trying to claim a territory. A third Rock Pigeon calmly stood right next to the fighting pigeon, seemingly unalarmed.

I then moved .1 miles south to a dock off of a public park. Most of the water near the dock was covered by a thin sheet of ice. Roughly 40 Ring-billed Gulls were flocked on the ice, some resting on the dock. Again, I noticed that one Gull would fly downwards towards the flock while calling loudly. Only a few other Gulls seemed to notice this behavior. Around 20 Mallards were also present on the ice and on the dock. A few of them would repeatedly dip their bills in and out of the water, and some were foraging for food with their rear faced upwards, and head and neck directly in the water. Many Mallards were resting on the ice or dock, with their bills buried into their feathers. Some of the resting mallards were standing on one leg, while others had both legs bend and hidden under their bodies. The Mallards were clearly separated from the Ring-billed Gulls, although I did notice a few Ring-billed Gulls intermingling in Mallard territory to sit on the dock or walk past them on the ice.

The morning's bird walk started out fairly predictable, given the time of day and weather conditions. The ground was covered in snow, the sun was out, the air was cold- about 20 degrees Fahrenheit , the wind was light. The tpical American Crows were calling and flying above, departing from their evening roost. Rock Pigeons were also seen in flight. They appeared slightly rounder than the American Crow. Three American Robins were sited, perched on an American crab apple tree along the street. They did not vocalize in our presence. When arriving at Centennial Woods, we ventured to the bird feeders and observed the various birds feeding on the seed. Many Black-capped Chickadees were seen and heard, both calls and song. One had an orange tag on the leg. Several White-breasted Nuthatches were at the feeder as well. The chickadees would grab seeds with their beak and fly off to store the seed somewhere on the tree. We then left the bird feeder and went along the perimeter of the woods. Cottontail Rabbit tracks were spotted along the way. The vocalizations of a Northern Cardinal were heard, and the Northern Cardinal was eventually seen perched on a tree. Two Downy Woodpeckers were also seen and heard on the trees. Bird distress call recordings were used to attract birds, which mainly brought forth many curious chickadees.

At 7:30am on Thursday, January 28th, a small crew of WFB 130 students ventured out to Centennial Woods. The sun was coming out, and the temperature was somewhere between 10-15ºF. While en route to the forest, several American Crows were sited overhead, flying away from their evening roost. We were able to distinguish these birds as crows due to their large size and consistent and full wing movement, and their call.

Upon arriving at Centennial Woods, their was an abundance of bird vocalizations dispersed throughout the early-late successional growth forest. A Tufted Titmouse was spotted, and several more were heard. Both the call and the song were present throughout the woods. The Tufted Titmouse can often look similar to a Black-capped Chickadee, but differs in its crest and slightly larger body size. Several Black-capped Chickadees were heard, and a few were seen perched on branches. The Black-capped Chickadees were mainly calling amongst a medley of other birds, however the song was heard a few times. Perhaps mating season is coming soon? A White-breasted Nuthatch call was also heard, and the bird soon after became visible perched on a branch. The Nuthatch may have been foraging on the tree, looking for wintering insects. The sound of many birds calling at each other increased as we went further into the woods. Maybe there was a predator near, a food source, or an intruder.

On the way out, American Crows continued to fly over head, although a few were seen perched high up on trees in some old growth forest. Two Downy Woodpeckers were heard, and one was spotted foraging for wintering insects on a snag.