Week 6, i think..: Birds

Date: 5/12/13, Sunday 

Time: 1PM.

Weather: Overcast

Temperature: 66F

It seems like most of the grass has grown since last week. Some of the grass is as tall as my shoulders (5ft). This week I’m supposed to observe birds. Here are some of the song/calls I can hear from my spot.

Song/Call	Likely Species	Relative Location
Zit zit zit zeee zaaay	Savannah Sparrow	Directly north (behind me) In Pacific Willow
Conk-a-ree, check check check	Red Winged Blackbird	Due south of the bench in the cattails and tree.
Jeer (descending)	House Finch	50(ish)yards to the west of me.

There’s this Red-Winged Blackbird, Ageluis phoenicues, that has a territory in this tree in the front of my spot. I haven’t properly identified the tree yet, He’s currently perched close to the center of the tree, possible for protection (see diagram). He occasionally let’s out his familiar song: “Conk-a-treee!” But he makes a lot of calls between his songs: “Check, chech, check!” I’ve noticed him leave his tree to fly to the cattails due east and the grassy area below, possibly for food our to establish his territory.

Diagram of the RWBb’s Territory fig.1

Then I did some sketching of birds. In the left corner, I believe I saw a bird?In the right corner I believe I saw a the Savannah Sparrow I mentioned earlier; picking at its’ wing. On the Bottom is a diagram of a American Robin’s flight style. fig.2

Next I accounted for this bird I took to be a House Finch

This bird has a red chest. like a robin but smaller. There are two now, probably a male and female on the same branch, singing in harmony. It looked like the red one (male) was sticking it’s beak into the females mouth.

As I was walking along the path I noticed this small (4in) bird with brown stripes. It would jog along the path in front of me then fly a further distance ahead if I got too close. This went on for about 20 yards. 

As I walked to a different southwest side of UBNA I heard all of these bird calls from the cattails. I could tell where the nest was from the commotion but could not see it. Then I saw this little guy holding himself to the side of a cattail. fig.3

On my way out of the park, heading towards the soccer field, I saw a Yellow Warbler. I suspected it to be the same Warbler I saw in a location nearby on Tuesday with the class, but I could be wrong. I was kind of a muggy day. I thought I saw a turtle in one of the ponds today but the splash could have been from a duck.