jloyst's Journal

I went to Shelburne Bay State Park on February 6th from 9:50- 10:50 am for this field journal. It was a sunny day with blue skies and a couple of clouds. 7mph winds were coming from the North and although it was 30 degrees out it felt more like 23 but there wasn’t any precipitation. The habitat was the shore of the lake that was softly iced. The water was still moving in wave motions even with the ice covering allowing the birds to float near the shore in the water. The beach was sandy and there were no trees present.
The particular species I observed was a Ring-billed gull which was flying in the air on the beach. I witnessed this bird fly off the beach and into the lake. This Ring-billed gull had steady wing flaps and at times would just glide through the air without needing to flap its wings at high speeds. I watched its wings go through a circular motion- up forward down and back. The Ring-billed gull would get a lot of lift flying high above the lake. However, the mallard duck had a different flight pattern; The mallard duck had less lift and more thrust, it would make its way along the lake without getting high into the sky but instead hovering just above the water. The Ring-billed gulls spend more time on the beach and the mallard sucks spent more time sitting in the water by the shore. The mallard ducks were more steady in the water whereas the Ring-billed gulls were constantly moving around their body or their head.
A big comparison between these species would be their wing type. The Ring-billed gull had a high aspect ratio wing type whereas the mallard duck had a high speed wing type. A high aspect ratio would allow the Ring-billed gull to fly for a long time giving it more lift with their longer narrow wings. A high-speed wing has a lower aspect ratio and more width which helps the bird gain more thrust when flying. Knowing the bird wing types matched the flight patterns I observed.
In total, there were about 55 birds by the shore where I was observing. There were more ring-billed gulls than ducks however the ring-billed gulls were constantly moving where the ducks were just sitting in the water. The lack of bird species would be due to the timing since it was very sunny and bright out as well as in the middle of the winter. Due to the lack of diverse habitat, this would also lead to little diversity observed in this area. The birds present on the water during the winter would be more specific because these birds would have to be able to handle the cold water temperatures, presence of ice, and lack of food on the dry bare trees present. To have better luck I would try observing this area at an earlier time because the sun is up ahead.

I went to Oakledge Park on February 20th from 9:30- 10:30 am for this field journal. It was cloudy with a little bit of wind and although it was 25 degrees out it felt more like 23 but there wasn’t much precipitation just some flurries. The habitat was coniferous forests with mostly eastern white and red pine.

Along my walk in Oakledge, I saw the white-breasted Nuthatch, Black-capped chickadee, Golden-crowned kinglet, Downy Woodpecker, and the Tufted Titmouse. The birds that I observed were fairly close to the ground in densely packed forests. Areas of the trail that had fewer trees and more space available were not occupied by birds. Staying lower in areas with many trees offers the birds protection from the wind and the cold air during the winter which is why they were mostly congregating in the same areas. The birds are mostly looking for seeds to eat and small berries and fruits if available. Their diets differ because in the summer they can eat caterpillars and more insects however in the winter their diet mostly shifts to seeds, berries, and fruits. During my observation all the birds I saw were extremely active they were moving from branch to branch so much that it was hard to keep up with them using my binoculars. I would assume this could be because they are trying to stay warm and forage. The white-breasted nuthatch was mostly climbing up the trees where whereas the chickadees were hoping for more branches to branch on different trees.

As far as evolution and ecology go, the birds were retaining heat by trapping air within their feathers. They can often fluff their feathers up which I observed when I saw the Tufted Titmouse because it looked plumper and wider. They also are warm-blooded animals that are endothermic meaning they maintain a constant high body temperature. Oakledge Park had many dead snags with huge cavities, where I would assume a bird would spend their night. Also, I would assume they would stay lower in the forest in dense areas to help with the heat more.

Along my walk, I noticed that the older bigger snags had bigger cavities as well. Although there weren’t any birds near the snag when I went on my walk in the morning, I think this habitat would be used at night when the temperatures drops to offer protection from the cold, wind, and other predators. There was many snage at Oakledge which was interesting to see walking in the woods. I also noticed that along with using snags the birds would also put their bodies between trees which is another form of protection from the cold weather.