Field Journal 1

Emma Brophy
Field Journal 1

Date: February 8, 2024
Start time: 14:42
End time: 15:50
Location: Centennial Woods
Weather: 44 degrees F, 5mph South, sunny, no precipitation.
Habitats: New growth and old forest

On February 8th I went to Centennial Woods during the late afternoon on a sunny day. Before fully entering the woods, I heard and saw a large group of Black-capped Chickadees at 14:42. The Chickadees were easy to spot as they rested on sparse young trees relatively low to the ground. The Black-capped Chickadees where easily recognizable by their call, flight pattern, and black cap and throat. I watched the chickadees as they flew from tree to tree staying on the edge between the start of the trail and deeper into the forest. The Chickadees have elliptical wings for short maneuverable flying. As they fly, they alternate from flapping their wings fast to folding them, making them look like they are bouncing. Chickadees seemed to have a generalist niche as I have spotted them in urban areas, on the edge of the forests, and deeper in the forest.

After observing the Chickadees for about 15 minutes, I moved deeper into Centennial Woods listening and looking for other species. At around 15:24 I spotted a few Woodpeckers in an area of the trail with larger older trees. After closer investigation, I identified them as Hairy Woodpeckers, based on their size, beak proportion, and red patch. I was also able to identify them by their drumming. I focused on one Hairy Woodpecker that was traveling down a mossy log, tediously picking at it. I decided to draw this bird as I was able to get quite close to him and he was moving much slower in comparison to the chickadees. I still found it difficult to sketch him though as he was moving so much, I was only able to get a couple of sketches. Once the woodpecker was done on the log, he flew to a larger tree flying in the similar flap-bounding flight as the Black-capped Chickadee. The Hairy Woodpecker moved up the tree in a spiral drumming at the bark.

The Black-capped Chickadee and the Hairy Woodpecker have very similar flight patterns. They both have elliptical shaped wings that are good for quick take off and maneuvering through trees. Both species also have flap-bounding flight patterns where it looks like they are bouncing in the air. Chickadees are much more active in comparison to the Hairy Woodpeckers. The Hairy Woodpeckers focus a lot of pecking at the same trees where the Blac-capped Chickadees are quickly moving from branch to branch. When considering habitat, Black-capped Chickadees were identified throughout Centennial woods, where Hairy Woodpeckers were only identified deeper in the woods.

Posted on February 10, 2024 01:41 AM by epbrophy