Field Observation 3: Centennial Woods

Thomas Maron
WFB 130
3/24/20
Field Journal 3

Centennial Woods

For this birding outing I decided to stay local and head from my apartment in the Old North End to Centennial Woods. I left my house at 2:30 in the afternoon on Tuesday, March 24th, it was a partially sunny afternoon and the temperature was in the high 40s. The beginning of my outing consisted of suburban bird habitat based around shrubs, backyards, and clustered deciduous trees. Once I reached the entrance to Centennial Woods the habitat changed from mixed forest to primarily coniferous forest and finally to small floodplain.
The first individuals I observed were several American Robins flitting around on the ground into several large coniferous shrubs in a front yard. As I continued on my walk I saw several American Crows fly above me letting out their distinctive “Caw”. Walking through UVM campus I encountered a dearth of observations and only observed several more birds as I entered Centennial Woods. These individuals were two American Crows high in a deciduous tree, one of which had several sticks in its mouth, presumably for its next nest building. As I moved through the woods the amount of calls increased, though I often couldn’t locate the individual that was calling. I distinctly recognized the “Peter-peter-peter” of the Tufted Titmouse and “Chickadee-dee-dee-dee” of the Black-capped Chickadee, additionally I heard the thunks of a woodpecker pecking away at a dead tree, though I couldn’t locate and identify the species. As I continued on through the path I stopped at a high point to look out over one of the “valleys” present in the middle of the woods. Here I heard several more Titmice, Chickadees, a Blue Jay and a Robin, though locating the individuals was difficult as the recent snow was melting and falling from the canopy resulting in lots of movement high in the trees. Moving into the marshy, small floodplain near Centennial Field I saw a Blue Jay fly across the open area and exiting the woods I saw several more Blue Jays low in a small deciduous tree. I stopped to watch them for a couple minutes and they soon lifted off and flew higher into a nearby pine.
Most the birds interactions I observed were through sound, and several times I heard two or more individuals of the same species calling back and forth. These species were mostly Chickadees and were mainly either modest alarm calls or flock communication and recognizing neighbors. I also heard several Blue Jays calling back and forth to each other, likely also calling out to their neighbors. The birds I did observe by sight were not ones that stand out as having especially cryptic coloring, though both the Tufted Titmouse and Black-capped Chickadee could be classified as having disruptive coloring due to their white bellies which would disrupt their distinctive bird outlines from afar. Additionally, the Chickadees are clear examples of having coloring to accentuate their bills with their black head coloring framing their bill.
My attempts at spishing were all relatively fruitless as the few individuals I encountered barely even batted a wing in my direction. However, I assume this activity would work because the sound is rather non-threatening and doesn’t closely resemble the call or song of other predators.

Publicado el marzo 26, 2020 07:04 TARDE por tmaronadk tmaronadk

Observaciones

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Cuervo Norteamericano (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

Observ.

tmaronadk

Fecha

Marzo 24, 2020

Descripción

Numerous individuals high in the canopy, both in deciduous and coniferous habitat, if you look closely at the photo the individual on the left has several twigs in its both, most likely for building a nest

Fotos / Sonidos

No hay fotos o sonidos

Qué

Chara Azul (Cyanocitta cristata)

Observ.

tmaronadk

Fecha

Marzo 24, 2020

Descripción

Observed several both in flight and perched low in deciduous trees, also heard their very distinctive calls

Fotos / Sonidos

No hay fotos o sonidos

Qué

Mirlo Primavera (Turdus migratorius)

Observ.

tmaronadk

Fecha

Marzo 24, 2020

Descripción

The birds of spring were everywhere! Observed individuals flitting around on the ground and low in several shrubs.

Fotos / Sonidos

No hay fotos o sonidos

Qué

Carbonero de Capucha Negra (Poecile atricapillus)

Observ.

tmaronadk

Fecha

Marzo 24, 2020

Descripción

Heard lots of their distinctive calls, but only actually sighted several in the lower canopy

Fotos / Sonidos

No hay fotos o sonidos

Qué

Carbonero Copetón (Baeolophus bicolor)

Observ.

tmaronadk

Fecha

Marzo 24, 2020

Descripción

Mostly heard their distinctive song, though also observed several individuals flitting between the ground and shrubs.

Fotos / Sonidos

No hay fotos o sonidos

Qué

Bajapalos Pecho Blanco (Sitta carolinensis)

Observ.

tmaronadk

Fecha

Marzo 24, 2020

Descripción

Observed several individuals low in several deciduous trees

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