FJ2: ID and Flight Physiology
I made these observations in Centennial Woods in Burlington, VT on February 18, 2020, from 4:15pm - 5:45pm. The weather was cloudy with occasional very light snow/rain and a temperature around 30 degrees Fahrenheit. The sun set around 5:30 so it was starting to get dark during the end of my observation time. The habitat was forested with snow on the ground.
I saw nine American crows flying out of the trees while I was entering the woods, and also heard a house sparrow chirp a few times but didn’t see it. The flight pattern of the crows seemed to be alternating between a few slower flaps and a few quicker ones. I saw another bird a few minutes later flying through the tops of the trees that looked sort of like a crow but a little smaller, with a smaller head proportionally. It was hard to tell the color of the bird from the distance but it looked dark. Its flying pattern was more consistent then the crows. I’m not sure what it was, but I used the Merlin app to try to identify it. The most likely options from that were common grackle, red-winged blackbird, or European starling, although the app said all of these are usually in flocks in the winter and I only saw one. About half an hour into my observation time I saw five more American crows flying low above the trees. These were the last birds I saw. I did hear some occasional chirping that I couldn’t identify throughout my time in the woods, but after the first half hour I didn’t see any more birds.
I think the reason I didn’t see any birds for the last hour was because it was cloudy and starting to get dark. I’ve definitely seen birds around Burlington at twilight/night before, especially American crows, so I was surprised at how few I found. They also might have been less active because it was cold. I wasn’t able to get a picture of a bird because I was writing observations at the beginning, and didn’t see any more birds after I took out my phone to take photos. I did get a sound clip of a bird at one point but couldn’t identify it. Next time I will try to go out earlier in the day to increase my chances of seeing more individuals and a wider variety of species.
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