FJ4: Field Observation: Social Behavior and Phenology

Date: March 21, 2021
Start time: 12:45 pm
End time: 2:00 pm
Location: Redstone Quarry, South Willard St.
Weather: 50° F, 7 mph South wind, 0% cloud coverage
Habitat(s): Residential, deciduous forest, wetland

For this birding trip, I decided to head out to Redstone Quarry. I hadn’t been there before and coming back to campus I realized I had taken a much longer way (through South Willard St) to the natural area but it was a beautiful day and it was actually great because I was able to hear a few birds throughout the quiet residential areas on the way such as a few Northern Cardinals and some Black-capped Chickadees. When arriving at Redstone Quarry I immediately heard a variety of birds singing, some of which I could not really recognize since there were so many singing at the same time. Considering it was a relatively warm day here in Vermont, it wasn’t surprising and it was great to hear. Audial communication seemed to be the most common way for these birds to communicate. Since this natural area is located right next to a highly residential area, many places seemed to have bird feeders so perhaps the birds were trying to inform each other of food sources. The small flock of House Sparrows I saw near a bird feeder seemed to be on high alert after I accidentally made too much noise as I was walking closer to the bush near where they were.

As I was heading out to go back to campus I noticed two Blue Jays in the bushes, after observing them for a bit they seemed to be foraging for food. I’m not completely sure if these two were a pair because as I was watching them, they seemed to be together the whole time and then flew away together. Similarly I saw two mourning doves that also seemed to be together.

Julkaistu maaliskuu 23, 2021 02:23 AP. käyttäjältä magdalenalopez246