Pre snow storm Friday afternoon at Delta Park

Johanna Hamilton
3/22/2024 3:30-5 PM
Delta Park, Colchester VT
Weather: 30 degrees slightly windy and mostly cloudy

On Friday afternoon I went for a walk in Delta Park in Colchester. I mostly stayed on the path across the bridge, but I observed many species of birds. Within a minute of being on the path I heard a woodpecker pecking at a tree. The park is filled with many trees that are submerged in water, and the path goes through a sort of estuary. The trees have lots of holes in them which look like they would have good bugs inside. We found the woodpecker and observed it drilling for a few minutes. I identified the bird as a hairy woodpecker. This bird is a resident of Vermont and is able to survive in many climates because it eats insects from trees. This means it can thrive almost anywhere with dead trees. Later on I encountered some black capped chickadees and tufted titmouse in the tree next to the bridge. They seemed curious about us and were singing a little bit back and forth. These birds are also residents of Vermont. Sometimes the younger birds may migrate. The black capped chickadee has much thicker feathers in the winter which enables it to survive here. Their temperature drops very low at night which helps them to save energy and survive.
From the walk to the car and on the walk out we saw some American Robins sitting in the grass. These are considered facultative migrants in Vermont! It probably has traveled from a more southern state to Vermont and could be continuing even more North. The temperature has been slightly warmer with less snow over the last few weeks. Today is quite snowy so they may be surprised! An advantage of arriving early is getting the first pick of resources, territory, etc. However a disadvantage is dealing with the resurgence of winter as spring comes to fruition. These birds eat worms out of the ground which may be harder through the snow.

Mini Activity:
All of the species I observed were resident species aside from the American Robin! Some of the other birds may have traveled a hundred miles or so within New England, so I will give them a combined mileage of 500. For the purpose of the activity I will say the robins traveled from Florida, making a 1200 mile journey. WOW!! total:1700 miles

Posted on March 23, 2024 09:48 PM by hjohannabug