catherinegullo22's Journal

05 March 2021 1500-1630
Location: Overlook Park (1575 Spear St, Burlington, VT 05403)
Weather: partly cloudy, mild winds from the Northeast
Temperature: 27ºF feels like 16ºF
Habitat: Urban. Small clusters of vegetation surrounded by open grass patches. Vegetation consists of an isolated small pine stand, a grouping a young cedars with die off splotches, groups of young trees and woody shrubs/bushes.
During this time spent at Overlook Park I saw a total of 5 American Crows. They were flying in groups of two from Southwest to Northeast. They occasionally vocalized with “caws”. It seemed as though they could be going to their roosting spot after foraging for the day since it was a couple of hours before sunset. Birds might go in for the night earlier in the winter since it is easier to come home warm and stay warm rather than come home cold and try to get warm.
The House Sparrow I saw was hopping around in and amongst the bushes along the fence line presumably foraging for food. It might have been looking for some seeds to eat as there aren’t any nut producing trees in the area and insects are hard to find during the cold Vermont winters. It could also find sap on the evergreen bushes that were on the right side of the fence.
The male Northern Cardinal was seen sitting high in a woody shrub along the fence. It shook out its feathers and fluffed itself up before sitting in the same spot for a while. It was insulating itself by bringing in air and trapping it under its feathers to hear up and act as a person space heater. It then moved to lower branches in the shrub and under some evergreen bushes. It may be warmer closer to the ground where there is more surface area to absorb the heat from the sun that was occasionally breaking through the clouds. Getting closer to the base of vegetation could also provide warmth as the vegetation is heating itself as well and the thickness of the base may provide protection from the winds. The bird continued to rest underneath the bushes until it was out of sight.
Birds diets have to contain more fat in the winter. Fat creates a layer on the outer part of the body that will contain the heat inside the bird. Higher fat during the winter helps them not freeze. They also have to choose the aspects of their diet wisely as there aren’t as many options in the water as there are in other seasons. Efficiency is key where the item they eat contains many different nutrients to maintain the bird rather than just one. The only really good place to overnight on this landscape is the pine stand, in my opinion. This is the most concentrated area of vegetation that can block the birds off from the winter night winds. These trees were also the largest which may provide more area for the birds to roost in.
Snag Watch:
Larger snags most likely have the ability to hold larger cavities in which birds can nest. With more snags, there is most likely a higher abundance of birds as snags are an easy place to nest and be protected from predators within the cavities. Sleeping or nesting in shrubs or bushes is very dangerous for birds as they are at or near eye level for any predators that may want to eat them or their eggs. The only way shrubbery is a viable option for nesting is if it is very thick or there are thorns that predators can not get through. Snags, depending on age, can have strong walls that can prevent predators from getting through. Cavities in snags can also be high up off the ground so that predators can not reach the birds and their eggs. Species that most likely use snags are those that like to feed off the insects in the snags as well as predatory birds that can use the snags are perches to look for prey. The few snags I saw were not large enough to house an birds while the two within the pine stand, nothing emerged.
Map: https://www.flickr.com/photos/192385826@N04/shares/6k9833

21 March 2021 15:06-16:40
Location: Niquette Bay State Park- Ledge Trail
Weather: Sunny
Temperature: 50ºF
Habitat: Mixed wood forest including, but not limited to Paper Birch, Eastern Pine, and Shagbark Hickory. These trees ranged in ages with many new growths occurring throughout the landscape with larger, older trees scattered throughout. Exposed bed rock peppered the cliff sides where there were steep drop offs. Leaf litter was prevalent here as well as moss on the rocks.
During my time sitting up in Colchester looking out at the mountains and bay, I got to hear many birds talking to each other. The best example would be the Barred Owls that I heard and happened to capture the audio and my precious reaction on video. It began with a typical call coming from my left and then a few seconds later one from my right calling the same way. This happened multiple times. It seemed as if these two individuals were trying to figure out where the other one was. Perhaps they are a pair and they were trying to communicate locations and actions to the other. It was about 16:00 when this occurred, so although owls are usually active at night, they could have been out hunting during this time of day as well. These calls were very load and seemed to take much energy to communicate a clear call to the other individual.

Plumage of Barred Owls is a mostly brown back and feathers with dots of white and a bright white belly with streaks of brown. Around the neck and eyes, the feathers are almost like a condensed checkerboard of brown and white. This plumage is ideal for hiding in both the winter and the summer. Neither color particularly stands out amounts its general habitat of mixed forests. Its plumage is a perfect camouflage, especially on the back, that would deter any predator from recognizing it as a form of prey. Contrastingly, the Northern Cardinal heard throughout the walk has a plumage of bright red and brown, depending on the gender of the bird. To use the most extreme example, I’ll talk about the male cardinal with the fire truck red plumage over its entire body. This bright red color may be advantageous when attracting females. Generally female birds are attracted to bright colored, shiny, and extravagant things. This coloration of the male’s feathers not only is attractive aesthetically but may be paired with the health and general fitness of the bird. Females want a healthier mate to ensure that their offspring are also healthy and successful.
A group of Turkey Vultures were observed sitting on tree limbs that were exposed to copious amounts of sunshine. They sat in pairs on limbs that were across from each other with the trunk of the tree in between them. A couple of them occasionally spread their wings out to increase the surface area of their body that was absorbing the sun’s heat; however, they were usually met by protect from their partner for invading their personal space. This sunning activity falls in-line with the circadian rhythm of birds have to keep their body temperatures regulated. Although it was an amazing sunny spring day, it was windy at higher elevations and could still cause the birds to get cold. Taking the time to sun themselves ensures that all of the birds’ internal cycles are operating at the necessary pace for the birds to be able to fly and hunt when the opportunity arises.
Mini Activity-Spishing:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/192385826@N04/51063499302/in/dateposted-public/
Spishing might work to attract small songbirds because they think it sounds like another one of their species, occasionally more specifically a Black-capped Chickadee. Although I don’t really hear the similarity, spishing could sound different to birds and different as you move away from the source. This also might just be an interesting noise that makes birds want to come investigate. Smaller birds are usually more susceptible to following their curiosity and will likely come see what someone is doing or what the noise they hear is. Usually larger birds are timider and more cautious around humans.