Ornithology,
Biol 4142
Field Trip #2
Where: RemsenÕs property (7.5 acres) in Bayou Paul area, about 20
minutes south of campus.
What to bring: Binoculars.
Field guide perhaps useful but not necessary. No notebooks needed.
Goals:
1. Experience winter land birds. No, you havenÕt had any of these
species in lab yet, but by the time we get to them (starting Lab 3), most will
have left for the breeding grounds to the north. These include Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-throated Sparrow,
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and American Goldfinch, which are some of the most
abundant birds in Louisiana in winter.
This also gives you the experience of trying to identify unfamiliar
birds with your field guides.
Because we will be
returning to this spot in late April, this trip provides the basis for looking
at seasonal changes. You will
notice a major turnover in species composition when we come back in April, with
the departure of most wintering species and arrival of summer breeders.
2. Experience mist-netting birds: We will catch some birds in mist nets,
examine them, and release them. (I
no longer maintain a banding permit).
Mist netting is an important tool for ornithologists.
3. See the effect of land management
for birds. Through careful
selection of plants used by birds, the carrying capacity of an area for birds
can be increased greatly. Bird
feeders also increase bird numbers artificially. On almost all of my 7.5 acres, my ÒmanagementÓ strategy is
to leave it alone other than removal of some invasive plants if feasible. However, on the half-acre around my
house site, I have extensive plantings of bird-attracting plants, especially
those pollinated by hummingbirds.
These are primarily subtropical, non-native but non-invasive perennials
in genera such as Salvia, Cuphea, Justicia, Malvaviscus, and
Abutilon. Most are killed above ground by hard freezes but re-sprout
in spring. To see what the garden
looked like before the freezers, check:
In late fall, many
thousands of blossoms are open at once, and up to 20 individual wintering
hummingbirds of 6 species, mostly species from the western USA, may be present
(as in December 2011).
