Field Journal 3

I began this observation at 2:04 p.m. on March 7th, 2024. The weather was about 43 degrees Fahrenheit and partly sunny with 12 mph northern winds. I returned to the site I visited two weeks ago and had a completely different experience. I was on the bike path at the end of Killarney Rd. where there is a small path to the beach and an overlook on the lake. Some frequent tree species typical to this area include Eastern hackberry, White oak, Sugar maple, and there were lots of vines covering the forest floor and wrapping around the trunks of the trees.

Because I visited my site on a relatively nice day, there were many different of species of birds singing simultaneously. Even though I couldn't see the birds, I noticed that when one bird started to get loud a lot of the surrounding birds did as well and vice versa. I heard a tufted titmouse making its typical "peter peter" call and another tufted titmouse responded with the same call from the other side of the bike path. It seemed like a group of sparrows were communicating with each other and trying to stay in contact to make their presence known.

I really love the plumage of the downy woodpecker. It was perched on a branch in front of me for about 3 whole minutes, so I had a good opportunity to observe it, I also had a close interaction with an American robin. These two species of birds have very different plumage. The American robin has more muted brown and red towns and I was thinking it was so they could blend in with the leaves on the ground so predators from above couldn't spot them as well. However, the downy woodpecker has a more robust plumage with a bright red spot on its head and black and white checkered wings and tail. The distinct red patch is a good way for the Downy woodpecker to establish territory and attract mates while the black and white tail helps them blend in with the bark of trees.

I tried making the "pish" call for about 10 minutes and I have no clue if I was making the right sound but after I thought it wouldn't do anything, a black-capped chickadee perched about 15 feet away from me. Otherwise, I did not have much success with noticing changes in the bird's behavior when making these noises I think I was doing it wrong. This song could be enticing to birds because it could mimic an alarm call and make birds curious.

Publicerat 8 mars 2024 03.19 av