mothman42s dagbok

3/9/2024
6:11am-7:45am
wooded clearing outside Victor NY
38 degrees F, light wind, lightly drizzling morning rain

I was camping in a small clearing near the train tracks and heard the black birds long before I even got out of my sleeping bag. There was a reedy clearing stretching out away from the train tracks where most of the birds seemed to be congregating.

the male red winged blackbirds were calling out with their very distinct kyaaaa calls, as they perched on reeds or tree branches, hopping around a little bit. I think this is kind of the equivalent of "THIS IS MY REED, ISNT IT A NICE REED. MINE MY OWN" to sort of mark their territory to the other males in the areas. now in comparison, there was several flocks of I believe snow or canada geese flying over head, and one would diverge alittle from the group, honking and the others would follow them in that direction, so while the blackbirds use their early morning calls as a territorial thing, the geese were using it to stay on track and in formation.

There were two cardinals I was watching very closely, one male one female, and the male would find a high perch, on one of the trees and make the wheet wheet wheet wheet calls, presenting itself to the females in the area, then the female chased after it. the much subtler female coloring was more difficult to see as the males will be the ones to attract a mate, and the females do not need to draw the same kind of attention, them to be less visible while caring for their nests.

3/24/2024
1:30pm-3:30pm
Sunny, bright 31degrees farenheight. very low wind
Salmon Hole Walk along the winooski.

Most everything was covered in a think blanket of snow, and many of the winter residents of burlington were out in force. Several cardinals were spotted in the trees next to the river, but moreso they could all be heard very clearly. Cardinals do not migrate in the winter, as they are often able to find food in the cold areas by eating seeds. Food availivility is the driving force behind most birds that migrate, so any of our year round residents are adapted to be able to find food in snowy climates, whether that be seeds like cardinals, or hunting like hawks or crows, or burrowing insects like sparrows or wood peckers.

the one migratory species i saw was the european starling, unfortunately this was the only bird I was able to record as my phone died shortly after. the starlings migrate to avoid the cold, with juviniles heading south in the winter to texas and mexico for warmer climates. They return to the northern climates from late february-late march to enjoy the emergence of bugs for foraging as spring begins to kick off. unfortunately they did not seem too pleased currently with all the snow, I believe they showed up a couple weeks ago when it started getting warmer as I saw sone starling formations while going for a run. This coldsnap we experienced this weekend does not bode well for the birds as it could confuse them in their migrations. Starlings can winter all over the southern US but one city they frequent is Dallas, as they prefer urban environments for foraging, so that is roughly 1,700 miles travelled by this pack of birds.