Tyler Starr
22 September from 0949 to 1006
Location: Under the westernmost horse chestnut tree on the northwest corner of the Quad.
Weather: 55 ̊ F, no wind, mostly sunny
General: Many birds are active at this hour. As I walked over to the Adirondack chairs where I wanted to sit, I noticed 2 crows hopping around. As I got closer, they flew up to the tree immediately above where I was sitting, so I got a very close view of them (see picture). They then flew up to join a third companion on top of Collins. For the rest of the time I sat there, the crows were flying around, cawing from time to time. I got a good view of a blue bird; I believe it was a Western Scrub Jay. It was sitting on top of the entrance to Doney, repeating its screech-like “kwesh” sound. Another one flew by back behind the Star Trees, and the one atop Doney followed it. They were back by the Star Trees for a few minutes, as I could hear their calls. One came back for a brief moment and perched on the horse chestnut tree, but it was behind a large branch so I could not get a picture. They are a bright blue color, with a white underside. I also saw two chickadees in a Douglas fir by Goudy on my way over to my spot. They weren’t making noise, but I happened to look up and see them. Apparently I got to my observation sight just in time. At about 1000, two large trucks came to take down the large tents that were set up on the Quad. They were very loud, and all of the birds left. The crows flew away to the north, and one flew southeast over Smith Auditorium. The Scrub Jays stayed over behind Collins and Olin. One bird I didn’t see today that surprised me was the mallard ducks. It is a nice cool temperature, and usually they’re out in the Mill Stream at this time, but I walked all along the Mill Stream and didn’t see any of them.
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