Field Observation 1: ID and Flight Physiology
On Thursday February 15th I went on a walk through Centennial Woods at 3:00 pm. The sky was clear, the sun was shining, and it was about 35 degrees. I entered the woods by the commuter parking lot and I immediately heard an American Crow and saw it fly above me. Once deeper within the woods, I heard a woodpecker pecking a tree and spent some time trying to locate it. Once I found it, I tried to identify the species but even with my binoculars it was too far up the tree for me to accurately identify it. I spent some time observing its behavior. It was very quick, calculated, and was moving all over the tree pecking. It used its tail for support and gripped the tree with its toes. Further along on my walk, I noticed another woodpecker and was able to identify it as a female Hairy Woodpecker. I knew it wasn't a Downy Woodpecker because of the comma mark located on the side of its neck, color pattern, and beak to head ratio. I observed its behavior and saw it fly away when I noticed that there was an American Robin perched high up in the trees. It flew from branch to another when another Hairy Woodpecker came and started to peck the bark right next to the robin. I watched this interaction for a while until the American Robin finally flew away. As I was leaving I identified a Common Raven across the parking lot in a tree by its large body and tail feather shape. I quickly ran over to get a better look and watched it flap away. I was expecting to see much more birds on my walk but I think it was the time of day that I went which hindered how many I saw. I think next time, I will go earlier in the morning because they are much more active looking for food at that time.
The Common Raven's flight was powerful and used its large wings to generate enough lift and drag to propel it through the air. Its wing flaps were equally spaced out and it flew in a straight line. The shape of its wings aid in its slow flight style and thus aids in its habitat niche. The raven's physiology allows it to fly longer distances and fly at higher heights to look for food. I can use this to help me identify the Common Raven because it is different from other birds and also during flight you are able to see the fanned tail feathers (not square like the American Crow). The woodpecker on the other hand was very different. The woodpecker doesn't need to fly like the raven because it hops from tree to tree in search of food. The small elliptical shaped wings of the woodpecker aids its slow undulating flight pattern. It also uses its tail feathers to provide support while on the side of trees pecking. This aids in identification because other small birds like have the ability to fly further distances and can fly in undulating patterns.
