February 5th

This morning I set out on a birding walk with Sean and some other members of our class. We left for Centennial Woods Natural Area at 7:30 AM and it was cold and cloudy. On our walk down, we saw a few crows all flying the same direction. Considering American Crows roost at night, it is possible that they were all heading towards a common food source. We also saw a few European Starlings, who flew in a very distinctive way, with their triangular body shape. Once at the entrance of the woods, a Downy Woodpecker flew in to the sound of its call, which Sean played on his phone. A few Black-capped Chickadees flew in, in what seemed to be in reaction to the woodpecker flying about coupled with the call that had repeated a few times. Once at a feeder, Sean again played the sound of birds mobbing in reaction to a screech owl. Multiple White-breasted Nuthatches, chickadees, as well as a Downy Woodpecker flew in and became very reactive to the call. A group of Tufted Titmice were perched in a pine nearby, watching the scene, but curiously they did not participate.

Upon leaving the woods, we saw a Cooper's hawk gliding over the trees, heading in the direction of the mobbing we had just witness. Walking to a different feeder, we saw a few Mallards and an American Black Duck in the wetland area on Carrigan Drive. At the next feeder, we saw a pair of Northern Cardinals in a thicket of staghorn sumac, and upon playing the mobbing sounds again, a group of American Goldfinches, a Downy Woodpecker, and some chickadees all flew in to the tree above the speaker. It was very interesting to witness the common characteristics among species.

由使用者 kirsticarr 在 2016年02月05日 18:58 所貼文