allieableman's Journal

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: 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.