Field Observation: Westport, NY

Thomas Maron
WFB 130
Field Journal 4
4/7/20

Field Journal 4
This field observation took place in my hometown of Westport, NY in the Adirondack Park. I left my house in the early evening around 4 o clock and took an hour and a half walk that took me through a variety of habitats from backyards and small fields to lake shoreline and mixed forest. The weather was mostly cloudy with temperatures in the mid 50s.
My observation started with sightings of several species as I walked through my backyard on my way to the lake. Here I heard Black-capped Chickedees call and saw several Robins flitting around on the ground and into nearby Buckthorn. As I moved through my neighborhood I saw several American Crows flying high in the sky and as I got closer to the lake saw a Blue Jay in a small Maple tree calling its distinctive call. When I got to the local park I stopped at a hill overlooking a small marsh, the mouth of a brook and Lake Champlain. It was here that the bird activity really picked up as I saw upwards of 40 or 50 Grackles flocking. They flew from nearby trees down into the marshy area, congregating in the small foliage there. I stopped and watched them as more and more joined the flock, but then decided to walk along the lake shore to see what other species were along the shore. On the docks of the town marina was a flock of Herring Gulls, most of whom were engaged in heat-saving behavior with their bills tucked under a wing. I stopped and trained my binoculars on this flock for five or so minutes trying to spot any other species that might be hidden among them, but also just observing their gull antics. Deciding to move on I walked down onto another beach and then back towards the park I had been at and it was during this that I had my most exciting observations. First, was a lone Osprey flying high above the lake. It circled for several minutes before flying off across the bay towards the other shoreline. Soon after this sighting, I noticed a pair of birds in the lake I didn’t recognize which I determined to be a male and female pair of Buffleheads, migrating back towards their breeding grounds in Canada. As I followed them, I noticed more Buffleheads, about 8 in total and watched a male chase another male away from the small flock that had congregated in the water. At this point I was down near the outlet of the brook in the small marshy area and observed a pair of Common Loons several hundred feet from the shore and heard several Red-Winged Blackbirds calling from across the brook. I then turned away from the lake and followed the brook up through a small mixed forest in a valley that winds through the middle of town, towards the end of the trail I looked up to see 10 Turkey Vultures in the upper branches of a dead conifer. When they noticed me the swiftly flapped off, circling the area as I departed.
Two of the species that I observed that forego long migration, the Black-capped Chickadee and the Blue Jay, do so because the energy expenditure of doing outweighs what loss of food they see as a result of season change. This is a result of their generalist diet and ability to cache and store food for the winter. Additionally, the adoption of behavior that reduces heat-loss during winter, such as puffing their feathers or sticking their bill in their wing combined with the lack of significant apteria makes these species adapted to deal with the cold temperatures. The Buffleheads I observed were most likely on their migration track back to their breeding grounds in Canada from their wintering grounds on the coast, or in Appalachia or the Southeast. They’re returning to their breeding grounds as the lakes and ponds unfreeze in Canada and the temperatures warm too much in the South. Similarly, the Osprey has returned from its Central American wintering grounds to take advantage of the unfrozen lake and associated increase in food and favorable breeding conditions and escape the more competitive tropical areas.

Bufflehead travel distance: 400 km
Osprey travel distance: 3480 km
Common Loon travel distance: 429 km
Turkey Vulture travel distance: 376 km
Total: 4685 km!

Publicado el abril 9, 2020 05:33 TARDE por tmaronadk