Post 1: Observations – Birds

October 26th, 2023

Season: Fall

Temperature: 3 degrees upon arrival / 2 degrees at departure

Time of day: 3:00 pm-4:00 pm

Conditions: Cloudy and grey skies, hardly any wind 

The area I have chosen to study is McArthur Island Park. The specific area contains a pedestrian bridge that overlooks the North Thompson River. The side of the river I focused on contained a steep slope with thick brush filled with what appeared to be holly shrubs, dead trees, foliage, and unidentified live trees.

The approximate size of the location that I observed was 936m2 

While watching the many activities of birds, I noticed that waterfowl and woodland birds, although occupying the same space, remained distinctly separated. However, their activities did not seem to bother one another. Additionally, I noticed that areas in which the woodland and waterfowl birds chose to “relax” were remarkably different. For example, the waterfowl seemed to prefer a more open area, free of debris, when relaxing. In contrast, the woodland birds appeared to prefer more coverage (via debris, dead branches, and shrubs) when relaxing (“relax” for this observation will be defined simply as little movement). 

In terms of waterfowl species, the population seemed to be mostly mallards (approximately 38) with only 1 wood duck among the raft. The woodland birds appeared to be mostly black-capped chickadees and possibly a few yellow-breasted chats (however they were too quick to identify).

Three questions that are interesting:

1. Do female mallards exhibit different levels of energy/vocalizations on water vs. land in comparison to males?
2. Do female mallards spend more time feeding than males?
3. Does position in the environment (i.e. along the river’s edge vs. middle of the river) affect feeding/alertness in mallards?

**One more question of interest**

4. Do black-capped chickadees have a preferred tree species for resting or activities?