Journal #6

On Saturday, April 28th I went to Red Rocks Park around 2:30 in the afternoon. It was partly cloudy and around 60 degrees. From the moment I got off my bike, I could hear birds singing. Near the entrance I could hear several Black-capped Chickadees and a Northern Cardinal. At first, it got quieter as I walked further into the woods, but then I came upon a patch of still bare trees where I found several White-breasted Nuthatches, a Downy Woodpecker, and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. The nuthatch was singing and calling and seemed to be investigating the tree it was on. It is possible that it was considering this tree as a nest site. These birds nest in cavities that so it could have thought this was a candidate. This nest site seems questionable as it is directly next to the trail, and may indicate lower fitness in this individual.
Further down the trail, I heard two Ruby-crowned Kinglets singing from up in the canopy. It is likely that these two were trying to mark a territory. This would probably be a decent nest site as it was slightly off the trail and in the cover of foliage. Ruby-crowned Kinglets prefer to nest up in the canopy so it makes sense to hear them in this area. At this spot I also found a Golden-crowned Kinglet hopping from branch to branch. The dominant tree species in this area was Eastern Hemlock, and this is a preferred habitat of this bird so it could have been searching for a nest site.
On the way out of the park, I heard a Pine Warbler singing from the top of a tall evergreen. These birds prefer to nest high up in pines, so this seems like a prime habitat. Although it is close to the trail, the tree is very tall and it is unlikely the nest will be disturbed. This is probably an individual with relatively high fitness. Nearby, I heard a flock of American Goldfinch. These birds were flying between a couple of trees and singing loudly. These birds were probably not looking for nest sites as forest interiors are not usually their habitat of choice. It is likely that they were just trying to feed.
While at Red Rocks I also heard many Blue Jays. They were performing their full repertoire of calls, potentially to attract mates. These birds nest in trees and use twigs for the outer structure of their nests along with grass and mud. They may also line the nest with rootlets. Red Rocks seems like it has a fair amount of nest sites for Blue Jays so it is possible that they were trying to find a partner and start building a nest.

Posted on April 30, 2018 02:39 AM by jderby125