• Date – 4/21/23
• Start time – 6:45pm
• End time – 8:00pm
• Location – Centennial Woods
• Weather (temperature, wind speed/direction, precipitation) – 73°F, partially cloudy, 10mph winds from south east, no precipitation but 40% humidity
• Habitat(s) – mixed hardwood stands, conifer stands, swampy area, tall grass

I went out at a time where most birds were starting to be less active so I did not see many behaviors related to mate selection, nest selection, or territory selection, however, when I was leaving my house to go birding, I saw 2 male Northern Cardinals ‘fighting’ in the branches of one of the trees and there was a female Northern Cardinal in the tree next to it.
My neighborhood has a lot of bird feeders, so in terms of resources the area these birds were fighting over was pretty good. This is not very hidden though, so for a species that is may be a common prey species, this area may not be the best. Each species has different needs, so their nesting habitats may be very different. I would imagine that a bird who is less fit would be defending a less prime territory. Some birds may look for high insulation material for their nests. For example, I’ve seen a lot of birds picking up some of the fur that the dogs I dog sit for shed. Other birds may look for really sturdy materials like sticks. I don’t know of comfort is a birds priority when building a nest, but dry grass would probably make a soft lining for a nest.

For the mini activity, I only heard 2 birds. The most prominent was the Hermit Thrush. It was my first time hearing one! I was not able to find it, but I could tell it was coming from in front of me mostly. The echoy quality is so cool! Its call almost sounds like the jingle for Old Spice. The second bird I heard was a chipping sparrow. Its sound was coming from behind me. This activity was really cool because I never realized how much of an impact my sense of hearing had on interpreting where a bird may be located.

Posted on April 26, 2023 08:11 PM by ajberkow