Käyttäjän vbessette päiväkirja

Time- 1:20 to 3:30
Date- May 9, 2021
Location- Lost Nation rd Essex
Weather- Mostly sunny and mid to low fifties
Habitat- All habitats visited during this excursion were within the indicated circle on the given map. Habits included oak/hemlock/white pine, wetland, and hemlock/white pine forest.

Extra credit:
I took my mom and sister out with me for this assignment. My sister didn't stay for the full two hours but we visited different areas around my house/neighborhood looking for birds. We started on a trail up the road from us where we didn't see too many birds, but we could hear them. Then we went back to the house where we visited the adjacent wetland and the woods out back. In regard to what my mom and sisters experience was like, I would say it was pretty good! I think the time of day made it difficult to see a lot of birds but we did end up seeing some cool ones. It was also a very nice day out so overall was a fun thing to do together outside.

Date: May 24, 2021
Time: 7:20-11:45
Location: Delta Park, Colchester, VT
Weather: Mid to high sixties and sunny
Habitat: The habitats of Delta Park are primarily wetlands and shore front areas. The wetlands surround the river feeding into lake Champlain, and support a wide variety of waterfowl and song bird species. Some of the more popular species within this habitat included Canada Goose, Mallards, Great Blue Heron, and Wood Ducks. Contrarily, the shore front habitat had species typically found around large water bodies and coastlines. Examples included Herring Gull, Ring-billed Gull, and Double-crested Cormorant. Some interesting sitings included the Least Sandpiper and Marsh Wren who were found within the tall grasses covering parts of the shoreline. Other more common species, such as the Northern Cardinal, Black-capped Chickadee, and Common Grackle, were found nesting in the trees bordering the boardwalk.

Bird Songs & Calls:
Eastern Phoebe: file:///Users/valeriebessette/Downloads/20210524_081030%20(1).wav

Marsh Wren:
file:///Users/valeriebessette/Downloads/MARWRE_20210524_112854.wav

Time: 6:50- 11:00
Location: Colchester Pond, Colchester, VT (location change, discussed with Allan)
Weather: Mid to high sixties, partly cloudy, and windy
Habitat: The targeted species for today were shrub-land/grassland birds. Some of the most popular species from today included the Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow Warbler, and Gray Catbird. The Red-winged Blackbirds could be found throughout the tall grass and dense shrub areas. They were the most abundant species by far. The Yellow Warblers were not seen in the tall grasses, but they were very popular in the thickets bordering fields and swamp. Gray Catbirds also preferred the small/dense vegetation. I observed them the most while walking near the shrubs adjacent to the swamp and areas bordering the fields. Since I was near a relatively large body of water, I also saw waterfowl like the Canada Goose and Mallard. Some other interesting observations included a Common Loon, Great Blue Heron, Pileated Woodpecker, and a Belted Kingfisher. My favorite bird from today was the Baltimore Oriole. Like the Yellow Warbler and Gray Catbird, the Orioles preferred to stay in the shrub/ tree areas. The males vibrant coloring and distinct song made it relatively easy to pinpoint them in the brush. Overall, I found Colchester Pond to be a great place to look for shrub-land/grassland bird species. There are three fields on the southern side of the pond that I spent the majority of my day at. Almost every single one of my species were found in, or around one of those fields. In addition, Colchester Pond provides habitat for many waterfowl and other water dwelling species. As mentioned, I saw Canada Goose, a Common Loon, and a Belted Kingfisher!

Date: May 26, 2021
Time: 7:20-11:45
Location: Underhill State Park, Underhill, VT
Habitat: Today my assigned birding area was Underhill State park. As many know, Underhill State Park is at the base of Mt.Mansfield. We started by walking the trail leading up to the trail heads, and then hiked to Cantilever rock. As with most mountains, Mansfields forest type changes as elevation increases. Today, because we didn't hike very far, we were in primarily Northern Hardwood Forest. However, as we got closer to Cantilever rock, coniferous trees became more prominent. Birds found in the beginning, and in the hardwoods, included the Red-eyed Vireo, Pileated woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and others. As we climbed in elevation, species like the Yellow-rumped Warbler and White-throated Sparrow were more abundant. Another interesting observation was that I saw some Yellow-rumped Warblers chasing one another. I couldn't tell if they were males or females, but I saw pairs more than once chasing one another through the trees. A hiker we ran into also told us that a pair of hawks dived at her towards the top of the mountain. I assume this was because her and her dog got too close to their nesting site. A technique that worked great today was pishing! More than once I was able to bring birds in with this technique. This was incredibly helpful since majority of the time, you could only hear the birds and not see them. At one point, after only a few minutes of pishing, some Red-eyed Verios, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Black-throated Green Warbler came to the surrounding trees. The biggest difficulty with todays birding was having to identify birds by only song/call...Not only were almost all these species new to me, it was hard to pick up clear recordings. A lot of the time, calls/songs were overlapping or a certain species was more prominent. Red-eyed Vireos for example, dominated with their calls and were by far the most abundant species.

Date: May 27, 2021
Time: 7-11:50
Location(s): Woodside Park and Overlook Park
Weather: Low sixties and cloudy until around noon when the sun came out
Habitat:
Today I started at Woodside Park in Essex. Woodside is primarily deciduous trees, wetland, and river habitat. The understory towards the river was almost entirely ferns with some tall phlox, poison ivy, and some other types of ground cover. When I first entered Woodside, the American Redstart, Red-eyed Vireo, Mourning Dove, and Red-winged Blackbird were the most abundant species. It was tough to see them though due to the canopy being all filled in. The Red-winged Blackbirds however were easily spotted in the tall grasses/swamp that was to the right of the trail. As I worked my way around the loop, I stopped at an area where I got a good view of the Winooski river. At this spot, I saw Barn Swallows flying across the water, a Belted Kingfisher, a female Hooded Merganser, and Spotted Sandpipers across the opposite bank. I also saw one the Sandpipers doing the signature butt bobbing! I also saw quite a few different bird species chasing after one another. Im not sure whether this behavior was territorial, or courtship related?

After I made my way around the loop, I decided to stop in at Overlook Park in Essex. This park is also on the Winooski river and you can either walk through the woods, or along the boulders and cliffs. The trail in the woods section is primarily hardwoods but around the cliffs, theres a lot of cedar and other coniferous trees. While I did find some birds, it was nearly impossible to get clear recordings due to the busy road and river. However, I did see a lot of Common Grackle and a pair of Belted Kingfishers. One of the coolest parts about this spot was I saw some song birds attacking a Northern Harrier. I assume he got a little too close for comfort to some nesting areas and the birds wanted him gone. I also was able to bring a Black-capped Chickadee within arm distance by pishing!

Because I didn't have the best of luck at Overlook Park, I headed back to Woodside. Once there, I took the St.Mikes trail thats a little bit further up the road. The habitat along that trail was virtually the same as the Woodside loop. However, at one point, I did come across an open field with tall vegetation. I also noticed that since I had come back to Woodside, Common Yellowthroat were everywhere. They were the main bird I heard, and saw while walking down this trail. I did also come across quite a few Gray Catbirds and Field Sparrows.

Time: 7-11:30
Location: Green Mountain Audubon Nature Center, Huntington, VT
Weather: Cloudy and high forties from early to mid morning. Temperatures rising and partly sunny around noon.
Habitat:
Today I took a trip down to the Audubon Nature Center. I first started off at the trails near the main buildings and worked my way around. There, I heard Black-throated-Blue Warblers, Black-throated Green Warbler, and a Ovenbird. I then made my way over to Beaver pond. I walked all throughout that area and saw my first Eastern Bluebird! In the same field, I observed a Eastern Kingbird clinging to tall grass. The building adjacent to this field had Barn Swallows flying overhead as well as some House Sparrows. I then worked my way to the pond were I saw Red-winged Blackbirds chasing each-other back and forth across the marsh. I also stopped in at the bird blind where a Eastern Phoebe had made a nest in the doorway. My next stop was the Bird Museum. When I first got there, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird was feeding at one of the hanging baskets. I then walked all throughout the trails over the bridge. At one point, I made it on top of a ridge where I saw a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and heard a Veery and Black-and-white Warbler. Overall, this was a great spot to test out my skills. I observed some new species, as well as improved my identification skills. The biggest issue with today was the cold...I had to take a couple breaks to warm up and gloves would have been great when using my binoculars. I also found it interesting that I didn't see any waterfowl/water species within the pond. I was expecting some Canada Goose or Wood Duck, but saw no sign of them.