allieableman's Journal

Date: April 29nd, 2024
Start Time: 9:30 am
End Time: 10:00 am
Location: Parking lot of Jeanne Mance

Weather: Day high of 57 degrees, low of 43 degrees. Its a calm day. The morning started with light rain and it was warm, muggy, and cloudy for the rest of the day.
Habitat: Urban landscape, the parking lot of Jeanne Mance on Pearl street. There's a big grassy backyard to one side, two smaller backyards with trees, and a small woody patch of old hardwood trees.

I’ve been waking up every morning before sunrise, for reasons unknown, and as my roommate sleeps on, the birds and emerging traffic are my only companions. I typically hear Robin first, the whistles rising and falling through the dark sky. As I watch the sun rise, and the sky slowly brighten, I hear the birds get louder and louder, a symphony of songs join the early Robin’s, and their dark shadows become magnificent displays of spring plumages and ritualistic flights. The residents of Jeanne-Mance’s-parking-lot-and-surrounding-areas have included House Finches, the aforementioned American Robins, European Starlings, Chipping Sparrows, Black-capped Chickadees, Eastern Phoebes, Ring-Billed Gulls, Northern Cardinals and more. This morning, I had the urge to go out and sit in the small patch of grass in the center of the parking lot, and take in the morning’s birds, taking in the light rain as it began to fall.

Date: April 22nd, 2024
Start Time: 11:30 am
End Time: 1:15 pm
Location: Centennial Woods

Weather: Day high of 48 degrees, low of 31 degrees. Sunny all day, but windy. Coldest day in a little while, ready for warmer weather!!
Habitat:Northern Hardwood Forest transitioning to Pine forest, marshy clearing with a stream surrounded by pine. Reeds growing, marsh is in a valley.

It's Earth Day!! The sun is shining bright and the wind is blowing! I woke up at sunrise, a bit unfortunate but it ended up being beauttifulll. I love welcoming the sun right as she wakes up! And I heard the birds begin their songs, sharp and sweet through the quite morning, European Starlings and Black-capped Chickadees, Robins and House Finches, Northern Cardinals and more. The trees outside Jeanne Mance are always full birds, but devastatingly, people recently cut down ten towering trees for what I’m guessing is new housing. Waking up to construction rather than the birds was a bit nasty, and in just 48 hours these massive Maples and old oaks that have been standing for decades, were gone. I was afraid my mornings wouldn’t have the same music I’ve been listening to all year, but the birds have still been nearby every time I wake up. However, the sound has changed, the birds are singing different tunes. Springtime brings bird song, as mating and territorial behaviors emerge for the breeding season.

After hearing the songs this morning, I couldn’t wait to go out into the woods after class. I set off deep into Centennial Woods and stopped at one of my favorite spots, the beaver pond/clearing towards the center. My entire walk, the sun was shining brightly, warming me up as the wind blew through my hair. The ground was muddy and squelched under foot, and more than a few times I nearly fell right on my ass. When I got to my chosen location, I was pleasantly surprised to hear twitters and tweets, chirps and cheerups all around me. I sat down on a little bench, and closed my eyes. The songs of the season filled my ears. As spring warms the country, mating songs and territorial calls, and new migratory arrivals fill Vermont's air. The chickadees are flying frantically around, as they usually do but perhaps more frantically now; and they sing the songs associated with breeding season. The mating calls ring through the air, with alarm calls sprinkled amongst them in fights over territory. One chickadee was flying around a snag, singing loudly, perhaps defending this prime spot for building their nest. This chickadee shows strengths amongst its species, telling all who come near not to mess with his spot. The Robins sing the song I have long associated with spring, bringing me back to childhood mornings. And perhaps my favorite of all, the Cardinals are singing loudly, high in the trees. They go to the very top of the highest trees, and sing a clear mating song, spreading it as far as they can. My grandfather's favorite bird was the Cardinal, and after he passed away, a Cardinal flew into our backyard and stayed for the entire time we sat shiva. Every time I see or hear that beautiful bird, I think of him. Every morning recently I’ve heard a Cardinal singing loudly, and for many hours. It always makes me smile. I imagine it's the same Cardinal, calling out that he's found a wonderful spot, and would like a wonderful lady! Today, in the woods, I heard two Cardinals singing to each other, matching each other note for note, back and forth, a love song. I spotted a flash of red, high in a budding maple tree, but couldn’t find his partner. Listening to a duet always makes me imagine the rest of their season, the babies they’ll hatch and those tiny fledglings taking their first leaps! Spring is such a special time for new beginnings and a vision of better things to come.
The end of the semester has definitely been getting to me, the stress of finals and the craze of living in a dorm room has me itching for the semester to end; however, the birds and just Mama Earth have been helping me along. Taking time to just listen to the birds or feel the sun on my face, walking through the woods or just laying on the grass, connecting to the natural world has helped me get out of my own head and just breathe.

Date: April 8th, 2024
Start Time: 2:00 pm
End Time: 4:00 pm
Location: Waterfront Park

Weather: Mostly sunny, warm high of 62 degrees, low of 33. SOLAR ECLIPSEEEEE
Habitat: City park, on the waterfront. A thin park stretching across the edge of Lake Champlain, a few trees scattered around the edges.

I went down to the waterfront to view the eclipse. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. The energy of everyone gathering, the live music playing, the beautiful weather, the day was perfect. I wanted to pay attention to how the birds responded to the eclipse, and unfortunately the only birds I saw were a few seagulls. There were ring billed and herring gulls flying around, acting normally in the hours before the eclipse. However, when partial began, I noticed the birds all started flying low, and fast! They were flying below the tree line, at some points even soaring almost at the ground. They were moving noticeably fast, almost frantically. And then it got too dark to really observe! And I was too wrapped up in the eclipse, it was insaneeeeee.

Date: March 25th, 2024
Start Time: 7:20 am
End Time: 8:10 am
Location: Parking lot of Jeanne Mance

Weather: day high of 46, low of 16, currently 27, the sun is rising and the sky is very blue. There's snow on the ground.
Habitat: Urban setting, the parking lot of my dorm building that is actually off campus. There are neighboring house lawns and a small patch of trees with some older growth. A few Pines, large Oaks, messy undergrowth.

Unfortunately I’ve had quite a lot of work to do recently, and haven't had as much time to get out as much as I would like. To help this, I’ve begun to start my mornings by bundling up, going outside, and feeling the sun on my face before going back up to my room and getting ready for class. This morning felt relatively warm, the air was pretty still and the sun was shining as it rose higher and higher above the neighboring houses. I walked out to a sunny patch of snow covered grass in the parking lot of my dorm building, and, making sure I was sitting on my waterproof coat, soaked in the sun. It was still quiet out, cars could be heard from the road on the other side of the building, but no one was around and luckily (and unfortunately unusually,) today was free of nearby construction. Well, no people were around. The birds however, were bringing in the sun right there with me. Crows were flying overhead, spreading out after their nightly roost. These overwintering birds come together in the cold winter nights to keep each other warm, as well as share food tips and such. Chickadees and Juncos were fluttering around in the small trees and vines around the gates of the parking lot. And up high, way at the top of a tall pine tree, in a neighboring yard, a bright red cardinal was calling out across the sky. Strikingly red against the cloudless sky, perfectly silhouetted on the tallest branch. He was calling for a little lady to join his song, and soon after beginning his mating song, a partner began to respond, and for the remainder of my time outside the two sang a beautiful duet that brought me hope and excitement for the progressing spring.
The morning was filled with Burlington regulars, the birds who stay year round and I can hear outside my window almost every morning. European Starlings and Tufted Titmice were at the lot this morning, and I heard many of the same calls. But the sounds are changing. The songbirds have begun their spring songs. The Cardinals I heard this morning sang their mating songs, and the chickadees are singing theirs as well. The breeding season for many of these birds has begun, and it comes with such beautiful music!
These birds successfully survive the Vermont winters through many means. They are all species who can survive off seeds, either changing their diets in the winter or already being primarily seed eaters; they fluff up their feathers; they shiver and go into states of hypothermia and torpor; they’ve all evolved to live in the cold, eliminating the need for migration. Migrating birds have begun to return to Vermont, after flying south for the winter, not having the same adaptations as the overwintering Vermont birds. A bird I saw today that I haven’t seen in a while is the Ring-Billed Gull. This gull may migrate a bit farther south for the winter, and they’ve now increased in number in Vermont as the weather warms. However, some migrants may have been fooled! March is a common time for big shifts in temperature, with warming days but still freezing nights, but climate change has made these weather patterns even more erratic, and false spring hit many parts of the Northeast hard this year. Over spring break, I visited home back in Brooklyn NY, and it was 70 degrees and sunny! Multiple days! Many flowers had begun to sprout and trees were beginning to bud. Now it's back to low temperatures and back in Brooklyn, cold rain. Up here, we had a large amount of snow and freezing temperatures, bringing us right back to winter. The plants that have broken soil, the growing buds on so many of the trees, and the birds who decided the weather seemed warm enough to move back up north, perhaps were in for a rough time with this cold weather. Some may have just not been ready. It is still quite cold here in Burlington, hopefully those far-distance migrants won’t be arriving for a little while and are still enjoying warm sunny beaches. I will welcome the warm breezes they bring with them under their wings, and the sounds of summer that are beginning to ring through the sky.

Date: March 8th, 2024
Start Time: 1:00 pm
End Time: 3:30 pm
Location: Centennial Woods
Weather: day high of 45, low of 27, currently 43, wind 4 mph blowing SSW, very sunny and warm
Habitat: Predominantly Pine forest, transitioning to marshy clearing. Clearing is a bit of a valley with a stream running through.

The weather was very beautiful today and I was eager to go out into the woods. This morning I was woken up by birds, many many birds. There were European Starlings, Blue Jays, Black Capped Chickadees, Dark Eyed Juncos, American Crows, and more, all chatting away outside my building. One Starling even perched on my window ledge, let out a loud chirp, and flew away, perhaps just making sure I was awake and listening to their calls. The Starlings were, and typically are, the loudests birds this morning. There were many of them, and they were chatting quickly with each other. I noticed they were the loudests and making the most noise when moving locations, taking off and landing. Birds often talk to each other when they’re agitated, so perhaps these Starlings, constantly taking on and off, were bothered by something, maybe the presence of the many other birds. They also mostly called out from the highest possible perches, so their calls traveled as far and clearly as possible. Starlings are commonly very noisy, and move in groups. They are constantly communicating with each other, and use many different calls. Mimicry allows Starlings to have a very strange and broad range of noises, giving them a toolset for very complex conversation. The sound clip I attached to this observation is from this morning, taken through my open window on the 6th floor of Jeanne Mance. Apologies for the loud trucks.
Moving away from this morning, after class I made my way deep into Centennial Woods, to a marsh clearing between blocks of dark tall evergreens. I sat facing the sun, soaking in the warmth and looking forward to spring and summer. The slow, warm breeze rustled the tall reeds, and carried the clear whistles of many talkative birds. I quickly picked up on many chickadees, who sounded very close. They talked with short chirps, not their songs or warning calls. They were just chatting, with the purpose of communicating about food and locations, day to day business. I took this chance to test out “spishing”, and naturally, I felt a bit foolish. I played around with the sound of it, and soon the chickadees began flying around me. Around four of them flew over my head and landed on a tree right by where I was sitting. They began foraging at the tree. I continued to “psh”, and noticed a few of them briefly looking my way. Then all but one flew farther off into the clearing, with one chickadee still foraging around the tree. I felt silly making the noises but it was incredibly fun to be up close and started down by some chickadees. I believe these noises may call their attention because, depending on how you make the noise, a small bird may think the sound is an insect they could eat, or perhaps another bird they want to get closer to or farther away from. Or perhaps the “Psh” doesn't fool them, but just alerts them to your presence. This is a noise humans have been known to make trying to attract birds attention, and perhaps the chickadees have associated this “psh” noise with humans, and they just want to check you out or stay away!
The chickadee that remained at the tree near me was flying around it, resting on low branches, going down to the floor and back up to the top of the tree, occasionally flapping its wings quickly, hovering in the same spot for a second. The chickadee was foraging all around this tree, looking for most likely any insects on the bark, or seeds by the floor. They have fast metabolisms and move quickly, darting around for food. This chickadee was eating around mid-day. Today was a sunny, warm day, so perhaps the chickadees were active for more of the day than usual, taking in the spring weather. The Black-Capped Chickadee has, of course, the characteristic black cap. This specific coloration may be evolutionarily advantageous for warding off predators when they chickadees are facing the wood, with the black cap making the small birds seem less easy of a target. This usage of plumage is shown in Woodpeckers. I saw a Downy Woodpecker during my observations, it was pecking at a snag near where I was sitting. The red dot on the back of their heads can be used to fool predators into thinking they’re looking that way, or just are not to be messed with, while they are focused on the tree. The black of the chickadee may also be used to reflect light, as there's black banding above and below their eyes, which helps protect the eyes from bright sunlight.
As I was leaving the clearing, three Red Tailed Hawks soared right above me. Two of them stuck around for a while, circling right above me and flying around the clearing, hunting for something good to eat. It almost looked like they were dancing with each other through the air, passing over and under each other in wide circles. They were beautiful and huge, undeniably powerful. We stayed by each other for a while, until the hawks flew far off to the North and I continued my walk back through and out of the woods.

Date: February 24th, 2024
Start Time: 2:30 pm
End Time: 3:45 pm
Location: Centennial Woods
Weather: day high of 27, low of 10, currently 18, wind 12 mph blowing SSW, sunny
Habitat: Northern Hardwood Forest

It was a chilly weekend. The sun was bright and the sky was clear, but I made sure to bundle up and the wind still nipped. I had been quite sick this week, stuck in my bed for most of it, just listening to the birds outside my window. A chattering of European Starlings has been quite noisy for a few days now, perching on a tree right outside my window and interrupting my sleep. I finally felt well enough to spend a dedicated amount of time outside for my observations, and Saturday, I made the walk into Centennial Woods. I walked along the trails until coming to rest on a fallen long. I was towards the middle of the woods, in a primarily Beech forest transitioning into towering Pines a little farther along.
The woods weren’t quite for a second. Many chickadees fluttered in and out of my line of sight, chirruping all along, and a cardinal called out from somewhere nearby, clear and strong. Although the cold drives many birds south, the winter skies are far from empty. Cardinals are a bird that will sing partially into the winter, and will go to a tall tree, for their song to carry far. Very active birds currently, are the Woodpeckers. It is their breeding season, and Centennial Woods is packed with Woodpeckers making themselves known! I was sitting very close to a tall dead Beech tree, and shortly upon my arrival, a Downy Woodpecker landed on the trunk of the snag. He began pecking away, the trademark drilling ringing through the trees. I felt very lucky to be so close to the little bird, the wood shavings were even falling on my boots. In my awe I failed to even take a picture. I’d rather the memory though so I’m not too broken up about it. A silly winter birding matter is how difficult it is to get out the camera. At least for me, these winter temperatures call for gloves and pockets; while my eyes and ears remain alert, my hands are tied up and I can’t be so quick to get out the camera without missing the bird entirely. Well back to the matter at hand, woodpeckers utilize snags to the fullest. Relying on them as a food source and nesting site, these dead trees are a vital resource to woodpeckers and many other cavity nesting species.
I didn’t see all that many birds flying around, I mostly heard their calls. In the winter the melody of the woods changes, and instead of long winding songs, more often the birds call out in shorter chirps and such. One bird that I definitely hear a ton of is the crows. As I mentioned in my previous journal entry, one of my absolute favorite parts of the winter days, is watching the crows of Burlington fly to their roosts each night. A few birds combat the winter months by roosting in the wintertime. Two that I see frequently are Dark-eyed Juncos in small clusters, keeping each other warm and informed; and of course the crows, coming together in hundreds, sleeping together for warmth and knowledge on food and other scarce resources. We all get a little cold in the wintertime, even the birds with their special molts and hollowed out trees.

Date: February 8th, 2024
Start Time: 4:10 pm
End Time: 5:30 pm
Location: Centennial Woods
Weather: day high of 44, low of 26, currently 42, wind 4 mph blowing SSE, very sunny
Habitat: Northern Hardwood Forest transitioning to Pine forest, marshy clearing with a stream surrounded by pine

It’s been sunny and warm these past few days. Punxsutawney Phil declared a short winter and the skies parted. Today seemed like the perfect day to go out birding. Classes and work kept me inside until 3:30, but I finally set off to Centennial Woods at around 4, ready to see what the sunset would bring. The paths were slippery and the woods were beautiful. I heard chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches calling, and woodpeckers the loudest and most active of all. I came to a stop by a marshy clearing, setting up my hammock between two trees, dangling over a half frozen creek. Immediately, I heard a woodpecker drum on a nearby snag, reverberating loudly throughout the area. It’s their breeding season currently so they’ll be drumming and calling out a lot this time of year. There were two birds calling to each other from across the clearing, one short trilling tweet, responding to another short trilling tweet. I wonder if they were woodpeckers. Unfortunately I didn’t see any woodpeckers, but I definitely knew they were there and saw their mark upon the snags.
Although the forest was very much alive and loud, I only actually saw one bird. It was a White-breasted Nuthatch, and I saw it only briefly. A little ways into the clearing there’s a tall, thin tree standing almost alone. About fifteen minutes into my time at the clearing, a nuthatch flew from the forest across the clearing, to the lone tree. Its flight was quick, and undulating. I scanned the trunk through my binoculars, near the top of the tree I spotted the nuthatch, climbing down and around the trunk and identified a white stomach. Quickly after I spotted it, the little bird flew back to the forest where it came from, dipping up and down. The flight pattern isn’t uncommon for small birds, but along with the habitat, trunk climbing, silhouette, and of course by seeing it through the binoculars, I could positively ID the bird as a White-breasted Nuthatch. Flight pattern can be very useful is bird ID, helping to differentiate groups of birds, and similarly sized/shaped birds such as the American Crow and Pileated Woodpecker. However, more information is usually necessary to fully ID the bird.
I was surprised to only have seen one bird; today was warm and sunny in a sea of cold and gray weather, and I could hear birds everywhere. Perhaps it was the time of day. I went later than I intended due to work, but there was still light and warmth when I was out, and birds are often active at sunset. When wondering why I didn’t see more birds, I thought that late on winter days, going into the night, bigger, more predatory birds may take to the skies, and perhaps the many songbirds I was hearing were laying low, not flying into open air through the clearing. Perhaps the birds were curled up for the winter night, and they were just sharing their last words before bed.
An animal I definitely saw a lot of was the squirrel. Many of them were scampering across the melting snow and playing in the trees. As I was informed in class, squirrels talk a lot during the winter, and birders must take note of this. Their noises can vary and the pitches may confuse people into believing they’re hearing a bird, when really it's a squirrel. This happened to me when I was hearing a sharp call repeatedly pierce the air, a short ‘che’ followed by a high “ee” sound, almost meow-ish. I thought I was hearing a mystery bird, but in class when I brought you the sound clip I was informed that it was, in fact, a squirrel. I’ll remember to pay attention to all the different species around me, and how they all differ and mix in the wild air.
And of course, I lied, I saw more than one bird. On my way home I saw hundreds, honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if thousands of American Crows were flying to roost for the night. One of my absolute favorite things is watching the crows each night. They’ve been frequently roosting right outside my window in Jeanne Mance. Almost every night I watch the skies turn mad with crows, flying every way, circling around the trees right outside my dorm. They loudly converse, often waking me up throughout the night, but I don’t mind. They’re settling in towering, old oak trees, and are often perfectly silhouetted against the bare branches and dark sky. And each morning, they take flight again as the sun rises, and I’m almost always woken up by their caws to see a beautiful sunrise that I’d otherwise miss. I love passing smaller roosts around campus on my walks home, and seeing them fly across the sky in numbers I can’t even believe, and of course having them right by my window. Perhaps I’ll leave them some peanuts, and they’ll remember my face the way they so incredibly can, and they’ll bring my shiny things. That's a friendship I would love to have.