jpleonar's Journal

My fifth and final bird-walk took place along the Burlington Bike Path and extended through North Beach and into Lone Rock. This walk took place on Thursday, April 14th between the hours 3:00-5:15pm. The first siting that I had was on the shoreline of North Beach where I saw a colony of Ring-billed Gulls, consisting of around twenty birds. A large majority of them walked into the water and swam due west. I then continued to the northern portion of the Beach, hitting the treeline and following it along into a small cove. While walking along the treeline, I head the distinct rattling call of a Belted Kingfisher. Shortly after I saw the bird that was emitting the call fly over the cove to an opposite treeline. In the cove itself, I saw eight Canada Geese. The majority of these geese were splashing the water with their wings and were in close proximity with two Mallard Ducks (one hen and one drake.) I observed these birds for approximately ten minutes and then headed into the woods along a trail. The next siting I had was a large Pileated Woodpecker. I first heard the slow drumming of the bird and then walked up onto it, excavating a large snag.

Following the trail, I was lead into a large open field where I saw a singular Song Sparrow. I was able to differentiate it from the House Sparrow by the dark striations on the chest and head. I continued to follow the trail along, which eventually wound around and lead me back to the North Beach area. At the northern tip of the beach, there is a rather large wetland, full of cattails on the periphery. There were many Red-winged Blackbirds, most of which I saw were males. Key characteristics I used for identification were the red band on their wing, square tail shape, and "checking" call. For the second time in the day, I heard the distinctive rattle of the Belted Kingfisher, however, this time it sounded like there were two birds. I then spotted both of them, on the opposite (east) side of the wetland, perched over the water on the tips of two separate branches. In an attempt to get a better look I headed to this side of wetland. Both of them eventually dove down and glided across the top of the water. One was slightly larger than the other which I hypothesize was the female (typically the female is larger in this species.) On this side of the wetland I also saw three female Common Mergansers together. They had gray bodies, long bills, and reddish/cinnamon colored heads with a crest on the back of them.

This log documents a bird-walk that I took through Centennial Woods Natural Area on Saturday, March 19th. I arrived at the site around approximately 4:30 pm. Upon arrival, I entered the woods through the entrance across the street from UVM Police Services. My transect took me through a large portion of the Natural Area, eventually bringing me towards the southeast portion close to the Sheraton. I stopped at some feeders and stood still for approximately ten minutes. During this duration of time I was assailed by Tufted Titmice and Black-capped Chickadees which were engaging in their typical social mobbing behavior. In addition to these songbirds, I also saw a Downy Woodpecker. I watched this bird for about ten minutes as well to ensure that it was in fact a Downy. Judging by the size of the bird and the fact that the beak seemed approximately half the length of the head, I was able to confirm this identification. I then proceeded out of the heavier forested area of the woods and went into an open field. It was here that I saw a large Pileated Woodpecker which stopped on a tree but did not stick around for long, flying due east (ballistic flight pattern.)

I then exited the natural area and walked up Carrigan Drive towards UVM Police Services. On the periphery of Centennial Woods, I saw a large group of American Robins in staghorn sumac trees as well as the ground, intermixed with some European Starlings. With this large group of birds, I also saw a Hairy Woodpecker which was significantly larger in body size than the Downy Woodpecker I saw in the interior of the forest. The bill of this bird was also significantly longer (about 2/3 the length of the head.) Lastly, there were two Mallard Ducks present in the constructed wetland on the opposite side of Carrigan Drive, consisting of one hen and one drake.

The approach taken during my third outing differhs greatly from my previous two. It took place on Friday, March 11th from the hours of 1:00-5:00pm. Driving and stopping at multiple areas, mainly fields (for hawks) and bays (for waterfowl) to scope with binoculars was the was primary strategy employed. My first bird siting occurred just as I was getting off Exit 17 (Lake Champlain Islands). It was a Red-tailed Hawk perched in a tree. What initially caught my eye was the sun bouncing off the white breast of the bird. The reddish hue of the underside of the tail was the second trait that I used to confirm the raptor as a Red-tailed Hawk. I then continued north, across the causeway and to the parking lot of Sand Bar. I stopped in the parking lot, and walked through a hedgerow, looking out at a marshy landscape loaded with snags. Here, I saw another Red-tailed Hawk which took off instantly upon seeing me, landing in another tree further off in the distance.

I then continued on along the west shore, looking primarily for waterfowl. Passing some residences, I saw Black-capped Chickadees as well as many Red-wing Blackbirds. In addition, Canada Geese were plentiful along the lake front as well as in a majority of the fields that I passed. Other sightings included some Common Mergansers as well as a drake and hen Hooded Merganser between Alburgh and Swanton.

My second bird watch took place at Clover Hill Wildlife Management Area in Strafford, Vermont. The 506 acre WMA is heavily forested with eastern hemlock (Tsuga Canadensis), red maple (Acer rubrum), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), and eastern white pine (Pinus strobus). My observation took place over on a transect, however, not a traditional one. There was no organized method or procedure that I followed while doing observation. I was also observing fisher (Martes pennant), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), and porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) tracks in the snow which is what ultimately dictated the areas and distances I traveled inside the WMA. This transect began at approximately 2:30pm and extended to 4:25pm.

Upon arrival to the site, before entering the WMA itself, I first spotted a White-breasted Nuthatch at a bird feeder next to the parking area. Initially I heard the birds nasally call which I instantly recognized as a nuthatch. I then turned around to see the bird hopping up the tree trunk, a behavior that characterizes this particular avian species. I was able to identify it as the White-Breasted Nuthatch for the obvious reason that the breast was white and not red. Accompanying the White-breasted Nuthatch at the feeder were three Black-capped Chickadees which were emitting the chickadee-dee-dee alarm calls. After observing these birds for a couple of minutes, I headed out across a field and into the forest of the WMA. It was here that I saw a couple of American Crows which were approximately 100 yards away from me above the tree line. They had a linear flight pattern and I was able to distinguish them from Common Raven by the shape of their tail.

The next bird that I saw was a sole Pileated Woodpecker. I looked up through some eastern hemlock trees to see the bird flying directly overhead, just above the tree canopy. I recognized it as a Pileated Woodpecker due to the ballistic flight pattern in which the bird beats its wings and then drops slightly to then beat them again. The woodpecker had black and white plumage as well as a red crest on top of its head. In addition, I noticed that this Pileated Woodpecker was particularly small in comparison to others I have seen in the past.

For my first bird walk, I went to Centennial Woods Natural Area on Friday, January 29. I entered the woods around 2:00pm from the entrance just past UVM Police Services. The strategy that I adopted for this walk was to select spots in the woods with different tree species, percent canopy cover, and elevation in order to see how these factors might affect what species of birds are present. My first location for silent observation was in an area with a moderate amount of understory and mature white pines spaced far apart. I immediately spotted two Black-capped Chickadees which flitted from tree top to tree top. I watched them for approximately ten minutes, also hearing several other deep guttural calls off in the distance which sounded like Common Raven.

My next observation point was located at a slightly higher elevation than the first and had denser vegetation dominated by eastern hemlock and a much less developed understory. Once I started my observation, two small birds immediately caught my eye. They were small and gray with a crest and a chickadee-like body shape. This lead me to be able to identify them as Tufted Titmice. The birds exhibited very curious behavior and hopped from tree to tree, chirping in my direction. Soon they were joined by three more Titmice and also a few Black-capped Chickadees. After a fair amount of observation, I moved on to another observation point located at yet a higher elevation on top of a plateau. The tree cover was more open and mainly composed of hardwoods. I heard the distinct call of a Pileated Woodpecker, but never saw it. I then was able to make out the deep croaking of a Common Raven which soon flew overhead. The diamond-shaped tail provided further confirmation that it was in fact a Common Raven and not an American Crow.

My final observation point was located on the down-slope on the other side of the plateau that served as my previous observation site. It was at this location that I was able to spot five American Crows from a far distance. The tail shape, and harsh cawing is what enabled me to identify them to species. In addition, I think it is important to note that they were headed west toward Lake Champlain. I hypothesize that they may have been flying toward one of the common roosts which crows are known to congregate at during the nighttime.