Bird Watching 3/6

Date: 3/06/2020
Time: 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Location: Centennial Woods, Burlington, VT
Weather: Sunny with a bit of clouds, 36 degrees F, and very windy
Habitat: The riparian zone for centennial brook. The trees were mainly evergreens including pines, hemlock, and firs.

I wasn't able to find a lot of different birds. I did however find a lot of black-capped chickadees. The black-capped chickadees I saw were burrowing themselves into the needles of the evergreens. This is so they could stay out of the wind and retain some of their body heat.

I also found a group of European starlings at the top of a tree. I do not believe they were together to conserve body heat, but rather they were looking for food together. This would help the European starlings from not being prey for other birds, and it would also increase the chances that they find food because they have more eyes searching. I am assuming that they were looking for snags (for insects) or different fruits from plants. The European starlings could of also been looking for desirable tree buds to consume.

I did see many snags as I was on my bird walk. Most of the snags I saw were at least fifteen feet high and had a radius of 10 inches. The snags had holes throughout their entirety that lead in towards the center snag. The snags were scattered along the path I took, but when I spotted birds in trees, there was atleast one snag within my eyesight. I believe the reason for this is because the birds I spotted (black-capped chickadees and European starlings) both eat insects. The insects that they seek often are very abundant in these snags.

Snags are extremely important for wildlife overall, but especially for birds. These snags provide a large food source for several species of birds (e.g. brown creepers, white-breasted nuthatches, and woodpeckers). These bird species all feed on beetles, spiders, and ants that live right beneath the bark. The woodpeckers also go into the inner bark to feast on larvae and pupae.

Posted on March 7, 2020 12:49 AM by