Shelburne Bay Shenanigans!
Weather: 55 degrees, mostly sunny skies, bright, no wind.
5:15 PM
Today was an amazing day for birding! I arrived to Shelburne Bay and enjoyed the warmth that the sunshine bestowed upon the trails. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, I heard a cacophony of songs and calls. Listening closely, I could hear many Black-capped Chickadees, American Robins, and plenty of Sparrows and Gulls. I heard a White-throated Sparrow in some pines, but could not see where he was coming from. A Downy Woodpecker explored the base of a willow tree for about fifteen minutes. While he was pecking away, I heard some loud repetitive calls slowly forming a perimeter around a group of trees and a field. Upon further investigation and reference to the Sibley’s Field Guide, I learned that this is a Northern Flicker! What a character! A one-footed Gull made my acquaintance as I walked toward the inlet and a couple of Song Sparrows journeyed in the reeds and brush at the water’s edge. I heard about three Red-winged Blackbirds in the trees across the road chattering away at each other. As I sat taking notes, an angry call from a Downy Woodpecker startled my from my concentration in a small group of trees. I happened to look up from the paper and see a Tern fly toward the lake! I jumped up, scurried to the edge of the water on the boat ramp, and watched him or her soar high, dive, and skip across the water. It was a beautiful display and I watched for about ten minutes. Suddenly, a large black form darted across my qlars (binny’s, nocs, binoculars) and I shifted the frame. A Double-crested Cormorant landed in the water with a splash and I watched him for a while. Dive, quiet, rise, swim, repeat! He took off in front of me and I am so thankful to have seen the bright bill, unique outline, and quirky personality. Right before I left, I saw a what I believe was a Turkey Vulture across the inlet, although the individual was rather far away to be sure.
A tried and true friend, the Black-capped Chickadee foregoes any attempt at migrating and spends their winter wherever they are find themselves at the end of the fall. The species is hardy enough to endure frigid days and smart enough to cache food for themselves come winter. I once read that a single Black-capped Chickadee can remember up to several thousand cache sites at once! They molt in the fall, so their coats are nice and fresh in the winter too. They overnight in small holes in trees – reported several birds in one hole! – and nestled against the trunks of many different evergreens. Perhaps they prefer to stay at a specific site for the duration of the winter because they don’t want to have to set up a new cache at each site it spends time.
Considering my new friend, the Northern Flicker is a migrant, albeit a facultative one. Researching about the species on the Audubon website, it looks like they have a large range and don’t necessarily have to travel that far. While Burlington is part of the common breeding territory for Northern Flickers, the southern edge of the state is far South enough for them to spend any season. Perhaps this individual only traveled about 110 miles from where he spent the winter to where he will breed. Either way, some challenges for this species returning to a site at the beginning of breeding season is that it may have to compete other individuals of the same and different species for a certain territory. This individual that I watched certainly seemed to be creating a perimeter around a field. Perhaps he was preparing for the breeding season.
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