FJ3: Ecological Physiology

Date: 3/18/23
Start time: 6:30 pm
End time: 7:30 pm
Location: Rosa Hartman Park in Stamford, CT
Weather: sunny/sunset, warm (45°F), no wind
Habitat: park with deciduous forest

Throughout the winter observations, I have seen many Black-capped Chickadees. Though these birds are small, they are able to survive the cold winters of the Northeast. In order to survive the cold, they eat lots of high-nutrient foods like berries and nuts. Additionally, they fluff up their feathers to trap air and keep in their body warmth-- this is why they look so round in the winter. In the spring, they likely go after insects (specifically caterpillars/etc) which are more abundant in the warmer times of the year. Most of my pictures of them have been at a feeder or in berry bushes, and they look very round in all of them. Other birds likely have the same or similar practices to survive the cold. Additionally, I know that penguins have a special circulation pattern to keep cold blood in their extremities and warm blood closer to their cores, so if other birds had something similar it could definitely help them retain heat in the winter as well. They also may sleep in dead snags, bushes/orb-shaped nests, or as a group as a sort of insulation. I would assume they spend most of their time feeding and resting, as the breeding season is usually in the spring when it's warmer.

On my walk, I came across several dead snags, though I wasn't able to see anything come out of them. I noticed that generally, the larger snags had fewer branches and larger cavities; the smaller ones had smaller cavities and more branches. It seems like birds use the interiors of the larger snags to rest or nest, while the smaller ones are used mostly to perch.

Publicado el 19 de marzo de 2023 a las 04:04 AM por sillaystring