Diario de mia0507

Date: May 28, 2021
Time: 6:45am-11:25pm
Location: Richard W. DeKorte Park, Bergen NJ
Weather: 55-65 degrees F, partly cloudy, little to no wind
Habitat: Mixed habitat, ranging from shrub to water/wetland to mixed coniferous and deciduous forest.

Over winter break, I frequented DeKorte Park at least 3 times a week to bird. This was my first time to DeKorte since late January, and I was shocked at how lively and full with life my park has become. DeKorte is mainly wetland- a plot of land in the middle of a dense urbanized area with a stunning and full view of the New York skyline (we are about 5 miles from NYC).

I think what shocked me the most was the amount of songbirds present. When I was there in the winter, the only non-water birds I would come across were White-throated Sparrows and House Finches. I was seeing little streaks of yellow everywhere from American Goldfinches, Yellow Warblers, and Common Yellowthroats (tiny flying bananas). The air was filled with sound from gulls and ducks and songbirds!

I got into birding in October, so I am fairly new and this is my first spring migration period! I am constantly at awe by all of the fast moving spring birds like Swallows and Flycatchers. However, shorebirds hold a special place in my heart. My favorite shorebirds are Ruddy Turnstones and Dunlin, but close behind them are sandpipers and Dunlin. No Dunlin spotted today, but I was a nice big puddle of Least Sandpipers (image included!). I love their behavior, how quick and urgent they are to peck the mudflats. They are so tiny too! I believe the smallest sandpiper. Today was amazing, what a mix or shore and songbirds!

Date: May 27, 2021
Location: Lord Stirling Park, Somerset County NJ
Temperature: 70 degrees, sunny, no wind
Habitat: Shrubby swamp and deciduous

Birding Day 4:

Upon the past few weeks of birding, I have made a nemesis bird: Blue-winged Warbler. Literally everyday that I have gone to bird I have picked a place where this species was reported, yet I have yet to find one. As I arrive at this park, I am vaguely familiar with the area as it is the other side to the park that I work at, run under the neighboring county. This area is maintained, so it is less "rugged" per say than the area I work in about 3 miles away. The area is a compact mix of swampland, deciduous forest, with a small collection of streams and lakes. Upon walking to the location I researched, I finally was able to hear that long awaited bee-buzzzzz. Sadly, I was unable to see the bird, but that is okay! As I continued on my walk with a weight taken off my shoulders, I was able to really tune in to the other sounds around me. The most amount of birds I heard had to be Eastern Phoebe, a generally compact, grey bird that is quite vocal. Red-eyed vireo was also a "background bird" for me. The bird that I saw the most was a Yellow Warbler believe it or not. I saw 6 Yellow Warblers, and heard up to 15! Obviously their song, sweet-sweet-little more sweet, followed me around as well. I started getting confused when American Redstarts made an appearance, their songs are definitely the one that trips me up the most, especially since I just was around so many Yellow Warblers. The Yellow Warblers were in the more shrubby habitat, while the Willow Flycatchers were in the more wooded area most. Good birding day! I am going back tomorrow because I did not find the Red-headed Woodpecker... As I was getting in my car an employee told me their location!

Date: May 26, 2021
Time: 6:45am-11:05am
Location: Garret Mountain Reserve
Weather: Cloudy, 75-90 degrees, humid, no wind

My forested area lied in one of the most urban part of northwestern New Jersey, Patterson. As I was approaching the parking lot, gas stations and other shops continued to appear. As I pulled around a corner, a hilly park appeared, looking extremely out of place. I was hesitant to believe that this could be any good, but as I stepped out of my car, the first thing I heard was the quiet chipping song of a Blackpoll Warbler. He was shy, so I was unable to get a look sadly. As I crept further into the wooded area, the song of American Robins and Ovenbirds almost started overwhelming me! Weirdly enough, I think my highlight (behind the Blackpoll) of this excursion was seeing two Wild Turkeys crossing the street from a QuikChek to the park... very funny to see. Although this went well, I wish I went somewhere more quiet... there were so many planes and cars and lawnmowers I was getting quite distracted.

Date: May 25, 2021
Time: 7:05am-11:43am
Location: Negri-Nepote Grasslands
Weather: 60 degrees, slightly cloudy, no wind

Grasslands

I feel like Grassland species are the most difficult for me to ID by sound. Trills and slurry sing-songs have always been a challenge and I tend to get super confused. Today, I was really happy with my findings. The habitat was grass and shrubland, with power-lines running through. Basically perfect RWBB habitat, I wonder if I missed any Bobolink! I was able to spot not one, but two green herons in a small pond 1/3 through my walk! I met some other local birders there, and they were able to point out the Meadowlark and Field Sparrows to me in exchange for me pointing out Green Heron and Prairie Warbler. I feel like my main challenge is being able to put the knowledge I acquire online into real life. I KNEW the Field Sparrow song sounded familiar, I just was unable to put my finger on it until another birder told me and my memory was jogged. I am not sure how to fix this struggle... But other than that, this day felt much more successful in terms of identification.

Date: May 24, 2021
Time Birding: 7:30am-12:00pm
Temperature: 65 degrees, cloudy, little wind, scatters of light wind
Location: Great Swamps NWR, Chatham, NJ

Not going to lie, today was kinda a sh*t show for me. My alarm didn't go off, I left my binos at my boyfriends house 2.5 hours away, and my car wouldn't start. I am really missing Vermont and do not enjoy being home in New Jersey, and I just got home last night, so it has been difficult. However, I managed to borrow a friend's really crappy spare pair and get my car started, and I headed off to the Great Swamps. It was so nice being back in a woodsy/marshy area again. As soon as I stepped out of my car, I was greeted with two Swainson's Thrush in the parking lot and 3 flycatcher sp. I saw these 3 Flycatcher looking birds near me... but I am very bad with Flycatchers. The light was dim and their yellow belly looked white to me. As they went higher in the trees, they finally started singing their song that I recorded. I was pretty sure it was GCFs, but I recorded them to review the song just in case! They eventually came down to eye level, and I was able to properly identify them! What a remarkable and grounding moment for me. I then walked through the NWR for hours, exploring the marshland that turned into woods that turned into beach. This spot was so great, and was a great way for me to get reintroduced to bird songs. So, today did not turn out as bad as it started.

Last FJ! So many awesome birds and warblers seen yesterday!

Date - April 24, 2021
Start time - 8:00am
End time - 9:30am
Location - Fort Cassin/ Porter Bay, Addison, VT
Weather - Partly cloudy, 40 degrees F, little to no wind
Habitat(s) - Farmland

For this field journal and birding excursion, I ventured down to Addison county in hopes of seeing the largest swallow in North America, the Purple Martin. I was very excited to see this species in particular, as swallows have always been a favorite of mine. As we pulled up, the large swallow was immediately visible; their dark purple iridescent feathers contrasted the white bird boxes. A behavior visible that related to territory selection was the fighting between two species over the Martin boxes. European Starlings are notorious for pushing native species out of areas, and Purple Martins are no exception. In the 10 minutes I observed the 7 Purple Martins, 13 European Starlings stalked the boxes, and at least 3 of them attacked the Purple Martins hoping to steal their territory.

The Purple Martins, on this side of the Rocky's, are basically only seen in human-made nest boxes. Native Americans have been hanging gourds for these birds for generations. In comparison, European Starlings are cavity nesters and nest in woodpecker holes, hollow areas in trees, and cavities on the sides of buildings. European Starlings are invasive, and are known for pushing native cavity nester species out. The Purple Martins were singing away when I arrived at 8am, defending their area from the lingering European Starlings. Compared to other members of its species, the Purple Martins are defending an average territory compared to the rest of its species. Purple Martins have been living in man-made nests dating back generations, so this is not a new territory, nor is its a "poorer" territory. Both birds are quite fit, the Purple Martin being quite agile hunters due insects being in their diet- this also goes for European Starlings. Another bird that I saw was the House Sparrow, who are not cavity nesters. These birds make their nests out of coarse dried vegetation, feathers, string, paper, and other materials for their nests. These birds lived very close to the house located on the farmland, and also quite close to the Purple Martins. There were small patches of forest nearby, where they got the dried vegetation from. The House Sparrows could collect the feathers from the Purple Martins nests, and string and paper from the house.

Mini-Activity:

Attached in "human"!

Date - April 13, 2021
Start time - 12:30pm
End time - 2:00pm
Location - Saxon Hill, Vermont
Weather- 65 degrees, light wind, dry
Habitat(s) - Upland woods

Date - 4 April 2021
Start time - 1:30PM
End time - 3:00PM
Location - Little Otter Creek WMA IBA- South Slang, Addison County, VT
Weather - 45 degrees, 10 mph wind changing direction, no precipitation
Habitat(s) - Wetland Floodplain Forest and River

Black-capped Chickadees are a species that I see on essentially every birding trip I have gone on in Vermont. These species are year-round resident birds, and have adapted in many ways to stay in VT all year. One adaptation is their use of feeders in the winter, and allowing to be fed by humans. These birds are able to survive the rough VT winters through the help of humans, and their willingness to accept human life. A facultative migrant spotted (and heard) on my trip was the Song Sparrow. The Song Sparrow is coming up to Vermont from anywhere as far as Florida, mainly wintering on the Mid-Atlantic coast. These birds are starting to arrive as spring is essentially here and the ice is melting, meaning bugs are starting to make a reappearance. Buds are popping as well, meaning Song Sparrows will have more opportunity to add berries and seeds into their diet! The obligate migrant I came across is one of my favorite birds, the Tree Swallow! An advantage of arriving to Burlington in early April as a Tree Swallow is that these swallows also eat vegetable material, so if the ice has not melted and bugs are not out yet, they will not starve to death. However, if the ice has melted, the Tree Swallows will have a great advantage by getting to eat bugs as soon as they hatch here! A disadvantage is that if the ice has not melted, the Tree Swallows will have to compete with other species for vegetable material.

Frequent Flyer Distances:
Northern Shoveler- 2200 miles
Blue-winged Teal- 2500 miles
Tree Swallow- 3400 miles
Gadwall- 230 miles

Date - March 13, 2021
Start time - 5:28pm
End time - 6:53pm
Location - Kikas Valley Farm, Jericho, VT
Weather - 32 degrees F, little to no wind, no precipitation.
Habitat(s) - Mixture of agricultural field and shrubby swamp area.

My group arrived at the farm around 5:30, and was immediately greeted by the most glorious sign of spring, Red-winged Blackbirds singing! After spotting some Grackles, and watching Wood Ducks fly over, we walked through the muddy out-of-season broccoli field and into a shrubby swamp area. We chatted for a little while the sun was setting, and waited to hear our first sign of what we came for: an American Woodcock. The American Woodcock is a goofy bird, with a goofier call. Their most notable noise is the "PEENT".

My group was chatting, when we suddenly saw two silhouettes appear overhead. There were two American Woodcocks chasing each other. This interaction was due to the Woodcock being an extremely territorial species, and now is the time they are establishing their territory. The birds swooped over our heads, as we saw one Woodcock chase the other to a space to the left of where we were positioned. After this interaction, we heard their communication through peenting.

Peenting is a courtship display that American Woodcocks do along with evening flight displays. In the audio attached, the American Woodcock is heard peenting for about 30 seconds before stopping and flying in an intricate pattern. They then essentially dive bomb back to the ground where they repeat the process, until it gets too dark for them to continue. This behavior fits into the American Woodcock's circannual rhythm, as it is nearing time for the species' breeding season and is trying to find a mate.

Two plumages I saw were the Wood Duck and an American Woodcock. The Wood Duck has a flashy, bright plumage made for attracting a mate. On the other hand, the American Woodcock has a dull, earthy plumage made for stealth and blending in to their surroundings. The American Woodcock commonly is found is open area with woody vegetation, and forest edges. This makes them potential prey. It makes sense for these birds to have a earthy plumage, to easily blend in with scrubby vegetation and not stick out to predators. On the other hand, Wood Ducks are obviously found on bodies of water. To not stick out a lot to predators, the Wood Ducks' plumage dulls out when not trying to attract a mate. However, in breeding season their plumage becomes flashy and saturated to attract mates.