catherinegullo22's Journal

03 April 2021
09:30-10:40
Location: Redstone Lofts retention pond & the Burlington Golf Club
Weather: Sunny, slight wind from the West, ~30ºF
Habitat: At the Lofts there was a small 30 m x 10 m pond with reeds, cattails, woody shrubs, and small Sumac. The surrounding ground was mostly rocks with remnants of past seasons reeds. Around this are it is mostly open with surrounding dormitories and apartments. There is a small mixed wooded area on the smallest side of the pond with trees in their 20s. At the golf club there were Red Oaks, Silver Maples, and Eastern White Pines surrounded by very well-kept green grass. This area had many openings with patches of the previously listed trees.
Some year-round residents observed on this journey were a pair of Mallards. They were dabbling in the pond at the Lofts sticking their bottoms up in the air as their heads were submerged feeding. These ducks most likely have to constantly sun themselves when the sun is available to do so in the long Vermont winters. As Burlington is a generally windy area with strong winds coming off the NY mountains and across the lake, these birds also most likely find somewhere perhaps more inland in the winter or somewhere with a barrier to protect them from becoming too cold. Stores of fat are also probably accumulated to sustain them while there is less food or less access to food due to the formation of ice. These birds may also have a lot of down or afterfeathers on their body which insulates their bodies better than the feathers of a songbird do.
A facultative migrant could be a bird that is omnivorous or feeds on seeds. These birds may not migrate if the winter conditions are mild, which it seems like we have had this winter. An example of this type of migrant seen during the bird outing was the Red-winged Blackbird. They have just started arriving in Northern Vermont about last week. These birds are most likely coming from Southern New England to New Jersey. This bird could be staying in Vermont for its nesting and breeding season or it could be traveling further north into Canada. The birds may be moving if it is too hot for them in their wintering grounds and they are looking for a generally cooler climate that northern states offer. With spring just beginning in Vermont, there may also be preferred food sources just beginning to become available here where they may have been used or non-existent in the birds’ wintering habitat.
Arriving in Burlington in early April may be advantageous to any migratory bird as they would get first pick of a lot of the nesting sites that are just beginning to regrow. While Vermont is still waiting for many birds to migrate North for the summer months, these early birds will be able to find the best places for foraging and nesting for this season before many other birds arrive. This gives them time to set up a territory around the best resources. A disadvantage, however, is that these birds are still subject to crazy weather changes and low temperatures as the early spring weather in Vermont is increasingly varying in temperature and precipitation during this time.
Mini Activity: Frequent Flyer
-Mallard= 0
-Ring-billed Gull= 430 km
-Red-winged Blackbird= 215 km
-Song Sparrow= 0
-Black-capped Chickadee= 0
-Red-breasted Nuthatch= 0
-Brown Creeper= 0
= 645 km estimated total migration/travel

Location: Niquette Bay State Park (Lake View Trail and Muhley Trail)
Time: 16:50-19:00
Weather: partly cloudy, around 50 degrees
Habitat: There was a mix of 50% mixed forest and 50% coniferous forest. The mixed forest was primarily composed of Birch, Maple, and Oak trees and occasionally some small stands of pine trees. The coniferous forest was entirely made up of Eastern White Pine trees. A calm small part of Lake Champlain was included in this area creating a bog type habitat about 25 m x 10 m as well as sandy beach habitat that was about 50 m x 5 m. Reeds and long grasses were included in the bog habitat.

Date: 24 April 2021
Time: 14:00-15:30
Location: Waitsfield, Vermont net to the Mad River
Weather: 60ºF, sunny with little wind
Habitat: In this section of the river there was a agricultural field on one side. This field was not cleaned out from last season, so there was old, dry bottom of stalks and hay on the ground with some fresh grass growing up through the mess. There was also dried cow manure scattered heavily across the field in little balls. On the other side of the river there was a thin lining of pine trees with occasional landslides where pure sediment was exposed. On both sides there was plentiful woody shrubbery spanning about 25 m from the waters edge. Then, of course, there was the Mad River. It was a pristine section of the river with a max depth of about 3 feet in the middle of the river. In the past years trout have been known to live here, but have been few and far between as of recent.
The Belted Kingfisher was observed chasing around another conspecific and heard calling multiple times. This could be related to territory selection. The surrounding habitat had a wide variety of resources with the agricultural field, river, and pine stand. The first bird could have been signaling that he had selected this section of the river as his home and when another bird came around, he decided to defend it. He was defending a prime territory spot compared to those of the species that may have to live farther from the water body. This species could use some of the cliff-like banks to next where there are cavities in the dirt from erosion or other species old burrows. The habitat requirements for nesting differ from species to species based on how that species survives and its life history strategies for its young. For the Kingfisher, living near a river is ideal because they mostly eat fish. This would keep the parents close to their young when going out to feed. Nesting in the sediment cliff would also be a good protection for the nest as many predatory species cannot hang on to the side of the cliffs without slipping.
Tree Swallows often build their nest with pine needles or straw and line it with their own or other feathers that they find to create both a cushion and hiding spot for their eggs. They would have to pick up the straw if that is what they decide to use from the agricultural field just behind the river or the pine needles from under the sparce pine stands on the other side of the river. The feathers they can pluck from themselves or their partners body or find them on the ground dropped from either conspecifics or other bird species.
Mini Activity: https://www.flickr.com/photos/192385826@N04/51137921906/in/dateposted-public/