Date - March 8, 2024
Start time - 4:16 pm
End time - 5:28 pm
Location - Waltham, Massachusetts, 42.380177, -71.205846
Weather - 47°F, sunny, light wind, no precipitation
Habitat - suburbs, scattered deciduous and coniferous trees

For my observations this week, I waited a bit last minute so I could observe some birds from my hometown, Waltham, MA. I wanted to move away from Centennial Woods for this expedition, and what better way than to go to a completely different state? I stayed within my neighborhood, which is very suburban and contains no patch habitats for wildlife aside from scattered Sugar Maples, Red Oaks, and Hemlocks. Even so, I saw and heard more birds today than my past two walks combined. Relegated to my own backyard at first, I didn’t see any birds. I heard what sounded like distant House Sparrows and decided to venture towards the sound. As I walked up my street, I heard a myriad of calls, including those of Northern Cardinals, House Finches, Black-capped Chickadees, and Mourning Doves. The Merlin Bird ID app was very helpful today, and allowed me to identify calls I wasn’t familiar with, like Red-winged Blackbirds and Song Sparrows. It was difficult to spot these birds up close, but I caught a glimpse of two House Sparrows gathered in the bushes and 3 other individuals flying overhead. I gave a small “pssssh” sound when I saw them, but they seemed pretty unbothered and continued to talk to one another. The noise pollution of the area potentially drowned me out. I imagine this sound can be enticing because it is similar to existing songbird calls.
With so many different species of birds talking to each other, it was difficult to focus on one group. Additionally, the noise pollution in the suburbs can be distracting, with cars driving on main roads close by and neighbors operating chainsaws. Still, the birds continued to sing and I decided to focus on a group of House Finches I heard pretty distinctly. From their warbled song and characteristic trill, I identified them and took a short audio recording of their call. I also heard them singing similar but more lengthy songs. Unfortunately, I couldn’t spot any individuals to determine their sex or note any advantages of their plumage. After comparing the calls I heard with recordings of mating calls from the House Finch Audubon page, I’d hazard a guess that the individuals I heard were males singing courtship songs. With spring approaching and birds returning to my neighborhood, nesting seems like a fair explanation for what I heard today. My observations took place in the afternoon, so it's likely that these House Finches spent the earlier portion of the day looking for food.
It was very exciting to hear so many birds today and be able to identify them by their songs alone. It’s interesting to me that there is greater abundance and more species variation in the suburbs, since it’s in such close proximity to human activity. I grew up being accustomed to all the different bird sounds of the neighborhood, so they’ve faded into the background over the years. With the identification skills I have now and the notable absence of birds near my dorm in Vermont, I have a new appreciation for the species that live near me, as common as they may be. My next birding trip will be in Vermont, and I hope to go to East Woods for a change in location.

Date - March 25, 2024
Start time - 3:42 pm
End time - 4:50 pm
Location - Centennial Woods, Burlington, VT, 44.475031559574255, -73.18814416159285
Weather - 40°F, sunny, no wind
Habitat - mixed deciduous and coniferous forest

I went back to Centennial Woods for my field journal today. The snow on Saturday threw off my plans to go to East Woods for a change in location, so I hope to travel there next time. At the entrance to Centennial, I heard a couple Black-capped Chickadees calling to each other and chirping, though I couldn’t spot them. They continued singing as I walked down the path, and I saw two up in the trees talking to each other. Since Chickadees are year-round residents of Vermont, I had expected to see a few today, and they were definitely the predominant species I observed. Continuous access to food and physiological adaptations for surviving the cold have allowed Chickadees to forgo migration. Regulatory behaviors such as facultative hypothermia are essential for energy conservation and success in such cold weather. Today was fairly warm compared to the weekend, so all the Chickadees I saw were flying around instead of shivering on tree branches.
As I continued walking down the path, I saw and heard three White-breasted Nuthatches up high, seemingly foraging along the trees. Consistently, I heard calls from Northern Cardinals in the distance, but wasn’t able to spot any up close. There were a few instances where I heard some kind of woodpecker pecking at a tree, but with the absence of a decipherable call or any visuals, I couldn’t determine the species. Additionally, Pileated, Downy, and Hairy Woodpeckers are typically non-migratory, so it could have been any of those. I heard the “peter-peter” of a Tufted Titmouse, as well as the song of a Brown Creeper. I was able to spot two Tufted Titmouses (Titmice?) up in the trees, talking to each other, but I couldn’t find the Brown Creeper. It was interesting to see and hear so many non-migratory species today after some quiet trips to Centennial in the past. Knowing that these species typically stay close to home, I would have expected to see them more consistently over the past few months.
On my way back from Centennial, I passed the Marsh Life Science building and saw about six American Robins in the trees eating berries. I saw a Cedar Waxwing join the group and eat as well. Robins are largely facultative migrants, moving with changes in weather and food availability, so I had not seen any for the past few months. They likely traveled up from more southern states, having sought warmer climates and more food at the start of winter. With the abundance of berries on the trees outside Marsh, food availability seems to be the primary reason for their return. While the weather was (relatively) warm and sunny today, this season is still unpredictable, as demonstrated by the snowfall this past weekend. Thus, a warm, stable climate is probably not the reason for the Robins’ return to Burlington. All About Birds’ distribution map shows that American Robins travel as far south as Florida, Texas and Mexico for the winter, meaning that they may be migrating over 2,000 miles to get from here to there!
My past journeys to Centennial have been fairly uneventful, so I was glad to hear so many birds around today. Their songs remind me that spring and warmer weather is coming. East Woods will be my next spot, and I’m interested to see if there will be any variation with species abundance between there and Centennial, especially as it continues to get warmer.