jenna_siders's Journal

Date: 02-08-2024
Start Time: 3:56
End time: 4:56
Location: Centennial Woods
Weather: The weather today was mostly sunny, with minimal cloud coverage. The high for the day was 43 degrees Fahrenheit, and when I was outside, I believe it was around 42-43 degrees. There was little wind.
Habitat: Many trees, but most were dried with no leaves. There were some clumps of pine or coniferous trees clustered close together, but those were the minority. The ground was mainly covered in dried leaves and pinecones, with some patches of snow sitting on the ground.

One of the birds I was able to observe the most was a Black-capped Chickadee. While I wasn’t super close to the birds and they didn’t tend to fly openly, I was able to observe a few specimens fly briefly from tree to tree or from branch to branch. Their wings often fluttered a bit at take off, then they would quickly hop and glide to a different tree. When in flight, a chickadee’s wings are very rounded, and create almost an oblong shape around its body. This wing shape suits the bird well, seeing as chickadees never have to travel long distances or migrate.
Another bird I observed was a White-breasted Nuthatch. I didn’t see as many of them as I did Black-capped Chickadees, but I was able to see one in flight. It mainly glided between tree trunks, only a few feet at the maximum. The nuthatch’s wings are a bit more narrow than that of the chickadee’s. They still have rounded edges while in flight, but the overall shape of the wingspan is much less oblong. This could be due to the fact that nuthatches mainly land on the trunks of trees rather than the branches, and they can achieve that with more gliding and less flapping.
Overall, I did not see many birds. Many factors could have contributed to this. I feel like the weather was ideal to see birds; it was sunny with little wind and quite warm considering the time of year. However, the spot I chose has a lot of human activity and foot traffic, which may have deterred some birds. The footing was dry leaves and snow, so walking around, even on a trail, made a loud ruckus which could have disturbed them. If I wanted to come here again, I would go closer to dawn or dusk, when other people are less likely to be in the area. I also feel I would have more luck in an area with more tree coverage. The birds seemed to stay away from trees without any leaves, and those trees made up the majority of the area I was in. They liked pines trees or any trees with some green on them, so an area filled with those trees might prove to be better.

Date: 02-22-2024
Start Time: 2:36
End time: 3:36
Location: Burlington Bike Path
Weather: The weather today was very cloudy and windy. The high for the day was 43 degrees Fahrenheit, and when I was outside, I believe it was around 42-43 degrees. However, with the wind chill, it felt like it was in the 30s.
Habitat: Few trees, most were dried with no leaves. There were some pine trees lining the path I was on. The ground was pretty clear, with the exception of a few areas of dead leaves.

During the winter months, most birds have it rougher than they do in the summertime. The colder temperatures make everything harder, from foraging to finding shelter. To produce or maintain body heat, birds rely on their feathers. Being warm-blooded animals, they are able to generate their own body heat. Their feathers then help to trap this heat close to their body and stop it from escaping into the environment. Birds may also fly and move around less in order to conserve their energy. Additionally, birds allot more time in the winter to sleeping. While this could be due to the shorter days and longer nights, it also helps them to maintain high energy levels in the colder climates.
Birds’ diets also have a change in the winter months. In the summer, birds have a plethora of food to choose from, including insects, fruits, and nuts or seeds. Unfortunately, not all of these are found when it is colder. Most birds rely heavily on seeds for their diets, as insects are scarce. Hunting for live food also takes a tremendous amount of energy that the birds should be using to keep themselves warm. Concerning winter shelter, the main goal is to find a spot that can protect from snow and wind. For many birds, this means finding tree cavities or a roosting spot protected by overheard branches. Other birds, such as crows, often flock together to create heat.
On my bird walk, I was able to find a decent amount of snags. Not all of them had cavities, but a good number did. I guessed that when snag size increased, size meaning the circumference of the trunk, not the height, cavity size would also increase. I did also observe that snags with cavities had more bird activity than snags without cavities or non-snags in general. I think snags are important because they provide birds with shelter from the wind and snow that harsh temperatures bring. Birds really only live in nests when preparing for or raising chicks, so they can use cavities in lieu during the off season. I predict the birds most likely to use snags are smaller songbirds. The birds have to be on the smaller side to fit into and actually utilize the cavities.