Summer Research Week 9

MONDAY 7/6/2015 Nescopeck State Park

The slow down continues with fewer birds vocalizing. Did the powerline easement first and that had Eastern Towhee and Field Sparrows with a single Prairie Warbler. I wouldn't be concerned with these three species in Pennsylvania despite the decreasing numbers - I think they're flexible enough in habitat to take advantage of gas and electric right-aways and I would through in Indigo Buntings as well. I hear these species all summer at my local grocery (Price Chopper) and around the mall as well. 

The fields that are managed for early successional birds had these birds as well and a few more. Goldfinches are becoming more obvious as their breeding season kicks in. Few Chestnut-sided and Yellow Warblers kicking around. Veerys... tons of them, still singing and calling from the edges. I've been seeing more hummingbirds too - maybe drawn to the flowers that are starting to bloom like the butterfly weed below. Blueberries are starting past their peek but bush honeysuckle, an invasive species, is pulling up the slack and they are heavy with fruit. 

Best bird of the day? Large female Cooper's Hawk that I almost hit in the truck 

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Butterfly Weed

Wildflower mix

Bush Honeysuckle

TUESDAY 7/6/2015 Beltzville State Park, Jacob's Property

A added a site near the boat launch. Last round, when I finished my survey, the land manager informed me they just sprayed the field. Now this is two weeks later and the site had been mowed (to about 8 inches) and seeded. There were still tons of song sparrows about the scattered shrubs and bluebirds but the yellowthroats were fewer. We'll see how they make out with the next planting.

The primary field didn't have the Eastern Meadowlark that was there last year. That's a species, unlike Field Sparrows, Eastern Towhee, Indigo Buntings, and Prairie Warblers, that we need to intensively manage. So far, I have ZERO meadowlarks and not a single Golden-winged Warbler.

On the upside this site had tons of Bobolinks. 

Jacob's Property, off 115, was really slow. Best bird was a male Sharp-shinned Hawk. There was other cool stuff there. This place needs a bioblitz. 

WEDNESDAY 7/7/2015 Office 

THURSDAY SGL205 

I didn't go out the day before because of rain. That rain clung to the shoulder-tall grasses. The site consists of several fields and they appear to be managed differently - making for great science. But we only sampled a warm-season and a cool-season grassland. The cool season is full of Red-winged Blackbirds and the edges have all the typical edge species (Indigo Buntings, Eastern Towhee, Field Sparrow). Like the other sites, I had Bobolinks swing by. 

After the survey, I took a ride over to Edge of the Woods Nursery for some native plants. Picked up butterfly weed, bottle gentian, and some irises. Not cheap. While I was there a red fox was working the edge of the fence. 

FRIDAY SGL036

My favorite site and beautiful morning. I didn't get the species I was hoping (Savannah Sparrow, Henslow Sparrow) but I did get the Northern Harrier, Bobolinks flew over, and I picked up a Blue Grosbeak. 

Black-throated Blue Warbler in the woods adjacent to the fields

Good view of the vegetation and a deer waaaay out there

Grasshopper Sparrow - still singing

Northern Harrier cruising the fields

SATURDAY 7/11/2015 Lehigh Gap Nature Center and Kittatinny Ridge 

Gorgeous morning. Birds were few at LGNC as I expect but the Blue Grosbeak was still singing like crazy. After LGNC went up to Kittatinny Ridge where I have my last point on the Appalachian Trail. Life is good.These first two photographs show bare ground at LGNC where heavy metals obliterated the vegetation and soils. 

THAT'S IT FOR POINT COUNTS! 

Summer Research Week 5 (catching up!)

MONDAY 6/8/2015

Out to the Penobscot Bike Trail in Newport Township PA. Bird highlights included seven Yellow-breasted Chats, a Barred Owl, and a zillion Grasshopper Sparrows.

It started out terrible with a downpour as I just pulled up to the site. On the upside, no insects like last year when I was immediately smothered in no-see-um and biting gnats (blackflies?). 

The most outstanding aspect of the data was that the sites was being devoured by gypsy moth caterpillars. 

 

Chat City: two in this scene

Large red oak completely defoliated by gypsy moths

Bare patches are damaged from gypsy moth caterpillars

TUESDAY 6/9/2015

Rain day - spent the day in the lab troubleshooting data entry and organizing 
WEDNESDAY 6/10/2015  @ SGL036

One of the favorite sites and always has some sort of surprise. It's a drive: just over 2 hours so I'm leaving the house just after 3.

This is an old surface mine site that is part of three townships in Bradford county. Reclaimed mine sites, BTW, are the clear leader in GMS diversity among the grassland, meadow, and savanna sites. See the comparison with the grassland at SGL 205-warm season below. 

Panoramic view of SGL036

Ground cover where there was burning < 1 year ago

This year I didn't get the Henslow's Sparrow that was there last year. I even covered the same area with playback (played digital recordings of a male's [pathetic] song - examples here). Also missed Warbling Vireo in the shrubs that dot the landscape. 

Like last year, the day starts out with a visit from a family of raucous Common Ravens. Same response to me: the come out of the forest, circle and scream, and head back to the forest. Gives me chills.

There was a Northern Harrier on the site, except this year it was closer to the parking lot site. Again, the bird was far off so pictures are  crappy.  This is also a great site for Brown Thrasher, Grasshopper Sparrow, Prairie Warbler, Field Sparrow, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, and Song Sparrow. There's a family of Eastern Bluebird that use the game commission boxes and I spotted a Wild Turkey from afar. I'd add captions but doing so makes the position of the pictures all screwy. 

Red-shouldered Hawk

The two best birds of the day were Bobolink - a PAIR! and a Savannah Sparrow that wasn't identified until I was checking out my pictures. The worrisome thing for me is that I didn't detect the Savannah Sparrow by voice. They sound very much like Grasshopper Sparrows. So I think I'll go back through my routes when I'm done and do playback on confirm identities visually. 

Male Bobolink

Savannah Sparrow

THURSDAY 6/11/2015 @ SGL205 in Trexlertown/Schnecksville

Did my bird surveys at both the warm season and cool season grasslands. Both have low diversity. The cool season is an easy walk for now but will be a bee infested hell next time I go. The warm season field is already a pain for a completely different reason - the grasses are  thick and arc just over your boots so you end up pushing through the field. 

This year the survey was disappointing - didn't pick up either American Kestrel or Grasshopper Sparrow that were present last year. Lack of detection or just not there? Another round of surveys might be telling. 

The crew came down and caught birds and had the best day yet at the cool season grassland. Captured nearly a dozen birds and included a Red-winged Blackbird. 

FRIDAY 6/12/2015 @ Trumbower Farm in Shickshinny

One of the least diverse sites. I think this comes down to size and isolation (as Island Biogeography would predict). Still, this is a nice site and I did pick up a Northern Mockingbird - something very intriguing about these birds. The site was burned last year but still doesn't have Grasshopper Sparrows. Interesting. 

Some cool (and kinda creepy) fungus