At Saturday's Bird Language sit we observed feeding flocks of
Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, and Brown Creepers.
Their baseline feeding behavior was interrupted by two groups of hikers,
one with three adults and a child moving through during Period 1 and
Period 2, and another with two adults and a dog through Period 4. Both
of these groups elicited some alarms from Chickadees and Nuthatches
ahead of their approach. Behind them the trail was silent for a couple
minutes or so. Meanwhile, a couple who walked through in between these
groups didn't trigger alarms. In fact, during the second period a buck
and doe tromping through the icy marsh seemed startled by the couple who
were standing quietly on the observation deck. The deer abruptly turned
back the direction from which they came. Many of us heard the deer
breaking through the ice from a distance, but couldn't see the action.
Good thing we have many observing eyes and ears to piece it all
together! |
Blog >