3/26/2023, Ornithology Journal 4

Evan Griffin
• Date – 3/26/2023
• Start time – 10:00 AM
• End time – 11:00 AM
• Location – Sucker Brook Hollow Country Park, Williston, VT
• Weather (temperature, wind speed/direction, precipitation) - ~39°F, overcast, little wind. Mostly no precipitation but a little sleety towards the end.
• Habitat(s) – A wooded area with the main trail going mostly due east with a southern bend toward the beginning. Path encompassed several bends and slopes, there was a sheet of ice covering most of it as well as some muddy areas. The path went over a brook and a small creek that connected with the brook. Beech, pine and maple trees, some naturally felled, some with snags.

I drove to this area and arrived at right about 10:00 AM. The beginning of the pathway was in close proximity to the road and the cars were audible, so I didn’t think I’d see much yet. The path was icy so I did my best not to slip. In the earliest part of the trail I managed to hear the dee-dee-dee of a Black-capped Chickadee, which I briefly saw flying high above. I continued on while still hearing Black-capped Chickadees, then I crossed two wooden bridges overlooking the brook and a smaller creek respectively. By about 10:10 I saw a brief clearing where the sounds of the Black-capped Chickadees were as loud as ever, so I walked over and saw several, no fewer than four or five, and got pictures of one. I went a little further up the trail where I briefly heard the cawing of an American Crow and an unfamiliar song which my bird app identified as a Song Sparrow, of which there were several by the sound of it.

I would have gone further up the trail but it went up a windy steep hill and the ice made it hard enough to walk up so I turned back, and slipped along the way nearly losing my phone. By about 10:20 I decided to just wait around that area to recuperate, and I heard more of the Black-capped Chickadees and Song Sparrows, plus one or two more American Crows. On the way back I crossed two people letting their dog walk without a leash, of which I didn’t approve, and I stood on the bridge for a little while to enjoy the sound of the brook. By about 10:50 I was on my way back to the beginning, in the early part of the trail I heard more Song Sparrows as well as a Hairy Woodpecker, then I called it a day and went back to my car and went home.

Black-capped Chickadees are one species I’ve encountered that do not migrate for the winter. The shape of their wings and their style of flying from nearby tree to nearby tree shows that they aren’t adept at flying far distances, and they may also be more territorial and prefer to stay in familiar areas. However, they can make it through the cold winter months thanks to their thick layers of feathers and induced hypothermia to conserve energy. American Crows and Hairy Woodpeckers use thick feathers and storing/conserving energy to stay warm in winter so they don’t need to migrate. Next take the Song Sparrows I heard which may migrate from Vermont in the months of autumn to go further south. These birds likely migrated from the Southern U.S. or possibly even Mexico to get to the Norther U.S., Canada, and possibly as north as Alaska. They likely left to avoid the winter cold and conserve energy, and are likely coming back near Vermont around now because they may not like the coming southern heat, they can breed which would have been a drain on energy in the cold, and the north will likely have a lot of insects emerging from the winter to eat. One possible benefit for an obligate migrant arriving this early is that they’d have first claim on the emerging insects and plants. Some cons are that it could still be cold and snowy in April which they may not be prepared for, and they may have even had to deal with storms along their migration.

Julkaistu maaliskuu 27, 2023 01:32 AP. käyttäjältä egriffin102701 egriffin102701

Havainnot

Kuvat / Äänet

Mitä

Amerikanhömötiainen (Poecile atricapillus)

Havainnoija

egriffin102701

Päivämäärä

Maaliskuu 26, 2023

Paikka

sucker brook (Google, OSM)

Kuvat / Äänet

Mitä

Laulusirkku (Melospiza melodia)

Havainnoija

egriffin102701

Päivämäärä

Maaliskuu 26, 2023 21:26 EDT

Kuvat / Äänet

Mitä

Amerikankäpytikka (Dryobates villosus)

Havainnoija

egriffin102701

Päivämäärä

Maaliskuu 26, 2023 21:28 EDT

Kuvat / Äänet

Mitä

Amerikanvaris (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

Havainnoija

egriffin102701

Päivämäärä

Maaliskuu 26, 2023 21:30 EDT

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