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I went birding on May 2, 2021. I started at 3:12 pm and did not finish until 4:52 pm. It was 61 degrees, partly cloudy, precipitation was 0, and the wind was 10mph. My location was downtown, Burlington. The habitat was residential with some dense trees and bushes. I was surprised that with the nice weather I didn't see that many birds. One of the cardinals (the one in the photo), was being very loud for a long period. He was preening in the middle of the tree. It wasn't the song that we learned in class so I thought maybe it was a call to warn off other birds/ things.

I went birding on 4/24/21. I started at 2:14 pm and ended at 3:50 pm. I walked from my house downtown to the Winooski Salmon Hole. The habitat was some main streets and urban areas and dense woods and river banks. The weather was 66 degrees and cloudy with slight rain for 10 minutes. The wind was at 9 mph.

The birds were very vocal. Some went on chirping for 5 minutes straight. I could hear different pitches of the same call leading me to believe there were different birds talking to each other. This could be a sign of males and females looking for a mate. I also saw some song sparrows chasing each other. That leads me to believe there might have been a territory squabble or in pursuit of a mate. Since at some points there were very quiet as I passed by I thought that might be a defense as I had a dog with me. I also saw many robins hopping on the ground picking up sticks, I would assume it was for their nests.

When I was walking to the salmon hole, I did pass by one nest that had a plastic bag in it which I was very concerned about. It was a very open nest so I thought it might be an American Robin nest. At the salmon hole, the trees are very tall and some were very dense. I figure that a lot of the birds would nest higher up in the dense parts. I also passed by a snag that had holes inside which made me think there were some cavity nesters taking up residence.

There was a Song Sparrow that was very vocal for a while. I assume it was trying to call for a mate or defending its territory. The territory was a large tree on the bank of the river. I would assume that it would be prime territory as it was a dense tree next to a water source and food sources. I would assume that this bird would have high fitness.

The Salmon Hole was riddled with trash. As I saw some Robins picking up small sticks and twigs, which made me happy but since there is a high supply of trash I wonder if it will also take those materials as well.

Mini Activity: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nSQw0MajCkII_dT3ISM11GYMrY6-9hSK/view?usp=sharing

I went birding on 4/18/21. I started at 4:12pm and ended at 5:52pm. It was 52 degrees and sunny with some clouds. The wind was 8mph. I walked from my house downtown to centennial woods and then walked on a trail. The habitat was woods and streets with dense trees.

I went birding on 4/5/21 at 10:43 and ended at 12:22. It was 48 degrees and the wind was at 21 mph. I was in downtown Burlington. The habitat was residential with some dense bushes and trees.

I saw European Starlings, House Finch, House Sparrows, and Northern Cardinals which are all, year-round residents. I assume they forego migrations because there is still enough food here for them to sustain themselves throughout the winter. I also believe since I saw most of them in dense brush or trees that they also had sufficient cover throughout winter. They all have pretty large populations so I assume it would be easy enough to communicate with each other to find food.

I saw an American Robin who is a facultative migrant. They can spend year-round in Vermont with sufficient resources. They can winter in Florida, Texas, Mexico, and other southern regions. I would assume that the Robins that are here would migrate from Florida, sticking to the east coast. I assume this is a pit stop since their breeding region in Canada. It got very warm the past couple of weeks with a sudden snowfall last week but I assume the spike in warm weather brought them back.

I saw a couple of obligate migrants. I assume it could be an advantage coming somewhat early for scouting food and resources along with territory and finding mates. The disadvantage would be the uncertainty in weather as we had a snowfall a couple of days after it was 70 degrees.

Mini Activity:

Ring-billed Gull: 1037.49 miles
Turkey Vulture: 802.75 miles
American Robin: 1254.19
Total: 3,094.43 miles

It was 2/21/21. I started at 9:13 and ended at 10:45. It was 39 degrees out with no clouds and 4mph wind. The habitat was residential with many bushes and trees. the location was the local residential area of downtown Burlington.

My birds were extremely vocal calling each other. Many times they would land in a tree or a house, call out and find some more birds of the same species and fly off together. I witnessed some House Sparrows do this on Hungerford Terrace. I also heard lots of calls and songs in different pitches making me think they were male and females calling to each other possibly finding a mate.

I saw a pair of Northern Cardinals. The male was brightly colored red and calling out his laser beam song. Soon after a female cardinal flew up into the tree. I assume the strength of his voice and the strong color of red attracted the female as a form of sexual selection. I also saw some Black-capped Chickadees. I saw one hopping from tree to tree looking for someone else I presume. Both the male and females are identical but I would assume the brighter colors would allow the male to find a female easier.

I saw a Ring-billed Gull calling out and gliding over the Burlington area. Soon after the bird found more gulls and they all landed on the top of a house in the direct sunlight, looking around. I am assuming since it was the morning that the gull was looking for food or others who might know where food is. This behavior fits in with the circadian rhythm since it was bright sunlight out and very warm on a cool morning. Since they live through hours of sunlight I think he had been flying around earlier that morning and was finding some time to find more gulls and rest.

I found a small foraging flock of House Sparrows in a nearby tree. I walked over and started making pish noises and they all flew away together. I think that I probably spooked them and sent them all scattering. I am assuming that they might associate that sound with a dangerous animal or something negative that can cause harm. They are prey species so they exhibited their fight or flight method and chose flight.

My observations were on March 7th, 2021. I started at 12:08pm and ended at 1:45pm. It was 25 degrees but felt like 12 degrees, the wind was at 10 mph and it was sunny with no clouds in the sky. I was in downtown Burlington, VT by the waterfront and Roundhouse Park. The habitat was city am water with sporadic park areas and train tracks. There was heavy foot traffic today.

I came upon a group of European Starlings in a little walkway cove when down by the waterfront. They were all chattering and that's what brought me over. There were more coming in as well. They were in the pine trees next to some bush trees with what looked like seeds or berries and every so often than would fly over to some peck and fly back to the pine trees. The majority of the ones I saw were preening themselves. I figured that they were telling others that they found a good spot with some cover and food next to each other. During the winter this would be a prime location because you wouldn't need to exhaust resources to go looking for food. In a different season I bet they would go to farther lengths to get better more nutritious food but during the winter is close to an abundance of food whether it be the best energy source or not is all you can ask for.

Many of the other birds I saw were calling and eventually met up with another bird of their species. I was assuming they were trying to figure out where some food was. There were big groups of Gulls and Mallards huddling together. I figured this was helping with body heat on this cold day. I did not see many birds fly over unless they got spooked by a dog and they would move in a pack. I am assuming the Starlings were trying to increase heat by being in the densely packed pine trees away from any cold winds.

The Downy Woodpecker I saw was tapping on some trees and the Starlings were picking at some bushes for food. The only time birds would fly is when they got spooked. The majority of the birds I saw were sitting huddled together and/or preening themselves. I am assuming they were using their time trying not to use much energy today as it was very cold.

I saw many nests and figured that birds would be staying there overnight or in European Starlings' case, the pine trees. I didn't see many tree cavities but I thought that's where many birds might be during the time as my walk as to take shelter. The Mallards and Gulls I would assume would find a nice patch of grass in one of the waterfront parks rather than the cold snowbanks of the river overnight.

As I was looking for snags, I was surprised to not find many. I saw a total of 4 and many of them appeared to be too small to hold a bird but I knocked on the trunk regardless. Nothing seemed to pop out during my knocking which I was very disappointed by, but I did notice some fruit and seeds around the base of the tree and wondered if this could be from some inhabitants. I didn't see any cavities but they were all somewhat small. I figured they were small cavities because they were thin snags. I believe the snags are important for nesting especially in the winter as they definitely would help trap heat and brace from the cold. I know that some raptors use snags to nest in but I would figure that some Woodpeckers would use snags as they would be able to make the cavities the easiest.

My bird walk was on 2/19/21. I started at 2:06 pm and ended at 3:36 pm. I walked from the UVM medical center to Harris-Millis Hall, to Redstone Campus, and then University Heights. The weather was overcast and 28 degrees with 1mph wind and flurries. The habitat was street, campus, and construction with some woodland areas. There were open areas and dense, tall conifer tree areas.
At first, it was hard to find many birds. A lot of the identification had to come from sound rather than sight as it was an overcast day so you couldn't always see the birds. We saw a couple of flocks of birds including Common Redpolls, Mallards, American Robins, and European Starlings. The American Robins had congregated on top of a Redstone campus building and a tree next to it. This made it fairly easy to get a sketch of the American Robin.
I took interest in watching the American Robin fly since I observed so many of them. To me, their flight patterns seemed to be like butterfly flaps. They would flutter their wings for a couple of seconds and then pull them in while simultaneously bopping up and down in the sky. It looked as if their wings were going in a more up and down motion rather than a circular motion. I also watched the American Crow fly and they had a different wing pattern. The American Crow had a circular flap and soared.
I was informed that the American Crow has an elliptical wing and this type of wing makes it easier to navigate within trees and woodland areas. The American Robin has a long tail and wings with a pointed shape. This is more frequent for birds with a quick flapping motion that migrates. The American Robin could be easily identified by the quick flaps and a pointed tip on the wings. However, the most distinctive factor to a robin is the red belly that can be seen when they fly overhead.

My sketch of an American Robin: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T_GS8viiW9tt9oZv_RHTwxj1OpR4gQg5/view?usp=sharing