Trip report: Freeport/Portland Maine
As school drew to a close, it was time to pack my bags for a trip to Maine, first to take a class in seabird ecology, then to trap at my first collection site. Collection started in the afternoon of Friday, June 21st.......
collection site name: Freeport wild bird supply, Freeport Maine
duration: three days
birds successfully trapped: 1
birds photographed: 30
this session began by driving up to Freeport wild bird supply, a small, local business run by Jeannette and Derek Lovitch. These two could not have been better, as they not only let us use their store bird feeders as a trapping site but we where also able to use their store as a sort of trapping blind. they where also very good for conversation when trapping got slow (which was most of the time).
the pigeons where less good sports, the entire flock was incredibly wary of the trap, over the three days, only three birds came within possible trapping range, this is what happened with each:
first trapping attempt:
On the first day of trapping, one white pigeon was feeding on the ground when it approached the net, however, I was a bit too eager for my first specimen and triggered the net too early. the pigeon was too close to the rim of the net and was able to escape. However, This was not a total loss, as the bird dropped a few feathers in the process of escape. these feathers were collected to be examined for evidence of stress and disease in the population.
second trapping attempt:
after the escape of the first bird, the flock returned to the bird feeders with surprising speed. two pigeons in particular where seeming interested in the bait in the net, again, a bit to eager, I pushed the trigger a bit too early, and was only able to successfully trap one of the pair. the procedures of measurement where run on this bird and it was released without incident.
Third trapping attempt:
after the first bird was successfully trapped, other pigeons in the area where so wary of the trap that they did not return to the baited area for the rest of the day. this cautious behavior was maintained for much of the second day of trapping, with no bird venturing within one meter of the trap for most of the day. one pair of birds I had not seen before (both with white spots on their heads) seemed intrigued by the bait. one bird entered the trapping range, but was too close to the rim for me to feel comfortable pulling the trigger, my fear was that the net's hard rim might slam down on the bird instead of the soft mesh of the net itself, possibly wounding the bird. Because of this, I had to let this bird walk away un-trapped. for the rest of the second day and the few hours we stayed at the feeder for the third, no more birds came within trapping range.
Photographs:
the best was to get information on the coloration of wild birds is by photograph, so that is what I did. I got photos of all of the distinct individuals of the feeder (more on this to come in another lab note) as well as a few birds from down town Portland. this data should help to better understand the variations color patterning of pigeons in this area.
Behavioral information:
The fact that only one bird was successfully caught is an interesting piece of data within itself. Normally, we tend to think of pigeons as fearless sidewalk denizens, having no concerns with begging at your feet for a bite of bread or nibbling at your popcorn if you dare to leave it unattended. however, pigeons in this population seem petrified of a change in their environment and are not at all willing to take risks. behavioral evolution is a part of evolution as a whole, so the trapping of very few birds is not a complete loss.
So what am I going to do now?:
Even with my photographic data, only having merriments for one specimen is not going to cut it. my only choice here is to go to my back-up plan, museum specimens. I should able to source some measurements from bird skins in museums that where collected recently and in the Costal Maine area. This is not ideal to due collection bias, but it is needed. however, for my remains collection sites, I will still try to collect wild birds if possible.
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