Orno Journal 2

Date - 2/23/24
Start time - 2:00 PM
End time - 3:00
Location - Redstone Campus
Weather (temperature, wind speed/direction, precipitation) - Sunny, Mid-40s, light wind, no precipitation.
Habitat(s) - Buildings, ornamental trees, field.

It was a pretty warm day, so I didn't see too much with warmth. However, the colder birds I see fluff up to retain heat. They also tend to sit more on their feet instead of perching high up on their feet in order to keep their feet from freezing. They tend to go for high calorie foods; for example I saw waxwings and chickadees going for old fruit. This has a ton of sugar in it, which gives them a quick energy burst similar to people. They spend a fair amount of time feeding and resting, but I am starting to hear them call to each other. Their diet is probably more seed and fruit based in the fall, then switches over to insects when they start coming back out again. They probably overnight in sheltered areas out of the wind, either in tree hollows or in between buildings.
I was on a college campus, so there weren't many dead trees to be had. But on another walk this week there were a ton of snags. Generally, the bigger the snag the bigger the cavities, although sometimes pileated woodpeckers don't care. A squirrel yelled at me a couple times, and a woodpecker flew away when I rapped on a tree. Snags provide food and shelter to a ton of species, from woodpeckers to porcupines. Generally woodpeckers start with them, then other animals use what they started.

Publicerat 24 februari 2024 03.52 av gabbydowd