bicke1359's Journal

This excursion took place on Monday, 6 April, 2020, and began at approximately 7:30am. It occured in a town conservation land near my home in Weston, MA. The weather during the excursion was quite nice -- sunny (barely any, if any clouds in the sky), very little to no wind, and the temperature was in the low-mid 40’s Fahrenheit. In the conservation land, I was walking on the trails, which went through a mix of heavily forested areas to wide open spaces, so I could try to see different kinds of birds. I saw only one other person while I was there, so other people were no distraction.
After some research on the Cornell lab of Ornithology website, I learned that all the birds I encountered on my excursion (American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, American Goldfinch, American Robin) live in Massachusetts year round, as well as a lot of the rest of the United States as well. So, I didn’t find any migratory birds today. Some of these birds I saw and heard today may have migrated from somewhere else in the US, but they may have also been here all winter. These birds are probably scavengers and habitat generalists -- they can probably live in almost every habitat and also eat a variety of things (like insects, fruit, nuts, small mammals, etc.). They probably don’t migrate somewhere else for the winter (or at least very far) because it would be too energetically expensive for them, and they won’t have the resources to migrate.
According to the maps on Cornell’s All About Birds, American Robins could winter in Florida, and then migrate at least 1000 miles from there to as far north as Alaska. From the southern tip of Florida to Boston, MA is just about 1280 miles, according to Google Maps. American Goldfinches can also migrate long distances as well. Although they also stay in the majority of the US year round, they can migrate from Florida, Alabama, Mexico, etc. in the winter up to southern Canada in the summer. From their most southern range in Mexico to Boston, the American Goldfinch can migrate up to 2,080 miles. These are just maximum migratory distances, given that these birds also just stay in the northeast region of the US all year round.

This excursion happened at around 5pm on Tuesday, 14 April 2020, in Weston, MA in my neighborhood. It was a very nice day -- very sunny, warm (around 60 degrees F), and little to no wind. The habitats were in wooded areas adjacent to both houses and residential roads that were not terribly busy.

This excursion happened on 23 April, 2020, in Cat Rock conservation land in Weston, MA, at around 3:45-5pm. The weather was sunny, mid 50’s Fahrenheit, and a bit windy. The habitats were a mix of an open field and wooded areas, along trails in a town park with not too much human traffic.
In one observation, I saw a pair of what I believe to be American Robins on the edge of an open field and a wooded area. They were always staying together, either on the ground or part way up a tree. They were not very vocal, but were hanging out in only a certain vicinity. Around this location, I noticed a lot of smaller sticks, twigs, and other organic detritus on the ground. I’m guessing that this was a mating pair that was foraging for things to make their nest out of. They were both on the ground near the trail when I approached, but then flew up into a tree when I got close. According to my somewhat limited knowledge about American Robins, this area was a pretty decent territory for these birds.
In another location, I heard various perching birds and a woodpecker. The location was a highly wooded area, primarily composed of Eastern White Pines. This is the location of my mini-activity. By the sounds of the birds’ calls and songs, it did not appear like they were moving around much -- it seemed like they were just sitting and singing. My guess is that they were either defending their territories, attracting mates, or both.

Mini Activity:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Lqx8P-SHKPsDYg9nV3nlbH6jhsUFc0cs/view?usp=sharing
O ⇒ My location
Other shapes ⇒ Birds in my vicinity

This excursion happened on 29 April 2020, from 2:45pm - 4:00pm EST. It occurred in the wooded area surrounding my yard. The weather was partly cloudy, with a temperature in the mid-50’s Fahrenheit. I encountered various birds, from woodpeckers to crows to Black-capped Chickadees.