Field Journal #1: ID and Flight Physiology

On Sunday, February 9th at 3:00pm, I went out into the woods next to the Burlington Country Club in search of birds. The weather was partly cloud at about 35 degrees with little wind. The sun at this time was shinning. I walked around these woods for about 30-45 minutes and did not see or hear any birds. I had noticed earlier that there were many birds outside my dorm (Wing), so I walked behind the dorm where there are trees and into the condo complex and there I found American Robins, European Starlings, a Black-capped Chickadee, and a Hairy Woodpecker. I was surprised that none of these birds were in the more quiet, wooded area that I was previously in. But, I found the Robins foraging for food on the ground, and the other birds fly from tree to tree and these particular trees were more spaced out which could be why the birds preferred them.
The most abundant species I observed was the American Robin. I observed around 20 individuals in the area and I found it interesting that they all mostly moved as a group. I watched 7 individuals fly from an understory tree, up to the top branches of what looked to be a birch tree. Watching them fly, it seemed like their flight pattern was made of rapid wing flaps, and just a second of gliding before flapping again. These birds also did not stay in one place for a long time, and quickly moved from tree to tree. Compared to the Black-capped Chickadee I observed, their flight patterns differed greatly. For starters, I only observed one Chickadee, which is very different than the horde of Robins I saw. Next, the Chickadee had significantly smaller wings just because it was a smaller bird, so what I observed was 1 or 2 flaps, then gliding, then flapping again. The Chickadee flew in a wave-type formations with dips and rises while the Robins flight was much more direct.
Wing style and flight style are obviously connected because it is how a bird fly’s, but more than this, it determines how and where species can survive. Species with large wings and more of a gliding flight pattern would have trouble getting into smaller spaces while they would excel with large expanse traveling. Alternatively, species with smaller wings and a more rapid flight pattern would be better at getting into smaller spaces and would have trouble traveling long distances. I observed a group of European Starlings flying, and although they don’t have huge wings, they’re bigger then a Hairy Woodpeckers. These Starlings were almost exclusively on the tops of tree because they do not have small, dexterous wings. Comparatively, I watched a Hairy Woodpecker fly onto a branch and start pecking, which took a lot of small wing flaps to land there and stay on the tree. The starlings did not have to do these small flaps because they were only landing on treetops, which do not require much precision.

Publicado el febrero 16, 2020 11:20 TARDE por iadeslaw iadeslaw

Observaciones

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Carbonero de Capucha Negra (Poecile atricapillus)

Observ.

iadeslaw

Fecha

Febrero 16, 2020

Descripción

Seen flitting along the outer most branches of a tree for a minute then flew away

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Estornino Pinto Eurasiático (Sturnus vulgaris)

Observ.

iadeslaw

Fecha

Febrero 16, 2020

Descripción

Seen flying from one tree top to another. Only on the crown of the tree did not come to lower branches

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Carpintero Velloso (Dryobates villosus)

Observ.

iadeslaw

Fecha

Febrero 16, 2020

Descripción

Seen pecking on the upper trunk of a tree and on the branches of a separate tree

Fotos / Sonidos

Qué

Mirlo Primavera (Turdus migratorius)

Observ.

iadeslaw

Fecha

Febrero 16, 2020

Descripción

Many American Robins observed, flying between many trees all over the field sight. Seemed to move as a group and see on the ground looking for food. Most vocal of the species seen and did not fly away when approached by humans

Comentarios

No hay comentarios todavía.

Agregar un comentario

Acceder o Crear una cuenta para agregar comentarios.