Weather: sunny, few clouds, about 65 F
Time: 3:30pm
My observation site was pretty active today- lots of people and dog, and of course wildlife. I saw some new species, including cinnamon teals, great blue heron, and a type of swallow maybe a barn swallow (not sure). In general there seemed to be a lot of bird activity. At one point there was a murder of crows that took over a tree by my site. They seemed to be chasing away the other smaller birds that had been there before.
It seemed like the area in general was more verdant; more/taller grasses and more buds growing.
I heard generally the same bird calls as I did before, though it seemed more active. I was able to listen to a conversation (call and response) between some birds (couldn't tell how many were involved) which was pretty cool. I heard the varied thrush and the red-winged blackbird as well as the great blue heron, which was pretty interesting. The heron sat on a log in the water for a while and then flew away. It was interesting hearing his/her squawk-like call and seeing him/her fly- the movements looked a little clumsy/awkward, which for some reason I wasn't expecting to see.
Other bird observations I made included seeing how some other species flew. One that I noticed (not sure of the species) had a way of flapping its wings and then shooting off for a short distance in a very aerodynamic way. Another one (brown body, small) had to flap somewhat frantically and then wasn't able to glide very well or gracefully on that momentum, so it seemed like it had to flap its wings more frequently.
I also noticed many more gnats and insects in the air. The bees seemed to like the scotch broom shrub quite a bit. Since the water in the pond is pretty still, I started wondering if it was good mosquito habitat, and when/if they would start coming out...
Look to Plant ID tab for more details on what I observed.
No comments:
Post a Comment