Date: 03/20/2021
Start time: 9:30 AM
End time: 11:00 AM
Location: ECHO Center, Perkins Pier, followed the bike path south
Weather: temperature was about 38 degrees or so when we started and rose throughout the day, slightly windy because we were next to the Lake, sunny with little to no clouds in sky
Habitat(s): waterfront (in the lake and flying above), trees/wooded area along the bike path, sandy shore, patches of ice in the water, docks

For this time bird watching, I joined the class field trip on Saturday at the ECHO Center. We started at the ECHO Center waterfront and continued South along the bike path past to Perkins Pier and a little more south. As a class we saw around 17 species but personally I only saw 10 species of birds.

All of the bird species that I found generally lived in the same type of habitat by the waterfront. There is the specific group of the water birds and passerines. At the back of the ECHO Center, 3 Common Merganser (2 female and 1 male) were found floating in the water as well as a few Mallards (both male and female) as well a few Ring-billed Gull. The interactions between these three was minimal but both species of ducks were going under water to search for food (the Common Mergansers were diving while the Mallards would put their heads under for a short amount of time through tipping their heads). Further down the bike path there was a sandy shore where there were a lot of Mallards and Ring-billed Gulls. Both of these species seemed to be thermoregulating by fluffing up their feathers to trap the warmth in. Some of the female and male Mallards were interacting through grooming themselves and making their feathers look nice, possibly to attract the opposite sex.

The Ring-billed Gulls interaction was mainly through a lot of vocal communication. They could be heard squawking all around in the sandy patch on the shore and even in the air. One of the gulls was calling out while standing which had other gulls start to arrive at this spot. Shortly after they flew off probably to go scavenge for food. Their communications could still be heard in the distance and was most likely to help signal others or signal that a source of food was found.

The plumage of the Common Merganser is very different between the male and female. The male had a dark green head with orange bill and a striking line between the green head and white body. The female had an orange head and bill with a grayish body color with a shaggy crest. From late summer to early winter the males wear non-breeding plumage that looks like the females. During the breeding season, the males colors help in attracting females. For Mallards, there is also a striking difference between the males and the females. The males have a green head with brown body (these two colors are separated by a white line) while females are mottled brown. Some of the Mallards had a different sort of plumage. Some had cryptic plumage meaning that they detected potential danger so they freeze which provides a camouflage effect when the bird is motionless in the vegetation. This could have occurred because a lot of sounds were happening as well as a big group of people approaching. Another type of plumage seen was some Mallards had sunning plumage. This is when the birds spread out in the sun to expose the plumage and skin to the direct sun. This is beneficial because on days like this where the wind is cold but it is sunny, it can help in keeping the birds warm.

A lot of what the Mallards are doing fit into their circannual rhythm. During this time of year it is the very end of winter is about to become spring so the females are experiencing pre-alternate molt which then leads to pair-bond maintenance. This was noted through the grooming of themselves to attract others at the sandy patch of shore. Soon the birds were do vernal migration in order to breed. The majority of the Mallards were spending their time resting and staying warm because it is still not completely warm out yet especially in the mornings. A few were foraging for food in the lake through tipping their head under water.

Mini Activity:
At the end of our birding trip, we attempted to spish on the bike back in a patch of cedar trees. A Black-capped Chickadee and a few Ring-billed Gulls were spotted and heard. However, I do not think that they came due to our noises because the area we were in was pretty noisy due to it being right next to a water treatment facility. I think it would have been better to do spishing in an area where it is quiet with less disturbance. This sort of sounds may work because the repetitive noises can alarm the small birds. These birds can come together to chase large predators away. It also may be similar to insect noises which could attract small birds that may eat them. A third reason could be that the smaller birds are more playful and just like to know what the sounds are.

Posted on March 21, 2021 06:22 PM by maevecronin