Field Journal 5

Date: April 21st, 2024
Start time: 12:20ish
End time: Around 1:30pm
Location: Centennial Woods
Weather:
Temperature: High 40s
Wind: A bit breezy
Precipitation: none
Overall cloudy and gray
Habitats: woodland edges, suburbs, roadsides, mixed hardwoods, streamside, conifer stands, etc.

Today was an okay day to go birding. It was pretty cloudy, but fairly warm and not too windy. Compared to the last time I went to Centennial Woods, there were less planes and cars polluting the forest with sound, so it was a bit easier to hear and differentiate birds. However, it seemed that most of the birds were pretty high up in the pines, so I wasn’t able to get a good look at them.
The behavior that was most noticeable today was that nearly all of the birds were singing. Singing can be for both territory protection and mate attraction. I could also tell that the forest was much louder this time than last time. Of the nests I saw, most were on the forest’s edge. Some birds require more shelter for their nests, and make their nests in tree hollows or other more protected spots. I’m not sure that I specifically saw a bird defending a territory, but I saw a Black-capped Chickadee mainly hovering around one tree. Considering that the tree was relatively small and not sheltered by other larger trees, I would say that it is a poor territory (indicating poor fitness). For a nest-building bird, American Robins build their nests with twigs, grass, and mud. Conveniently, Centennial Woods can be a place to acquire all of these materials. Otherwise, they are commonly found basically everywhere.

Posted on April 21, 2024 06:16 PM by wsn802