Field Journal 7

Date: April 26th, 2024
Time: 3:00-4:00 pm
Location: East Woods Trail, South Burlington Vermont
Weather: The weather today was 57 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny/mainly blue skies. There was a slight breeze, but it was fairly calm out.
Habitat: East Woods Area is a small, hilly, loop trail with a mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees. There are many snags and decomposing trees on the ground. New growth of young trees is also present under the canopy. Some areas are more dense and other areas are more open depending on where you are along the trail.
Species Observed: Black-capped Chickadee, Chipping Sparrow, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pileated Woodpecker (I heard its call several times because it rang through the area, but never got it on recording unfortunately).

I spent a great deal of time today watching two Black-capped Chickadees—they had to have been mates—scurry around to build their nest! The two birds repetitively took turns eyeing this one little tree, going inside through a small cavity, and coming out carrying woody debris! It was so entertaining to watch them; they were completely unfazed that I was there, for the tree they kept going inside was right along the trail. They would continuously go in, grab out material, fly across the trail to this certain little tree, stay there a second, and then fly away elsewhere to discard the woody extract. I read that these birds excavate cavities to build their nest in, so that was exactly what I was witnessing. Every now and then they would sing or call and it was really great to watch/listen.

Posted on April 28, 2024 10:14 PM by