Pictures of the site

Observation 8

Site: Marsh/Pond area
Date: 5/28/08
Time: 9:05
Temp: 48 degrees F
Soil: Wet
Weather: Partly cloudy, cold, slight breeze

I came to the Marsh area site late for my last observation in hope of seeing different animals. I didn't see much difference except for the loud piercing sound of a group of crickets in the back away from the pond. I was exited because I never herd these bugs at my site before. The birds stayed the whole time I was there, they are probably used to me by now. A few yellow headed blackbirds were mangling around but most of the bird population was blackbirds. Some ducks were cruising around in the algae free, pond happily. The geese were back, about a dozen surrounded the area. There were puddles in the tall grasses from all the rain we have been having. A black house cat enjoyed the water that the puddles had to offer. The willows leaves bloomed bright green with life over on the far side of the pond. The cattail heads have shown no sign of improvement, I predict that they are bursted for the season. The whole marsh beamed with noise from all the organisms toward the end of the observation, making the site even more breathtaking.

Works Cited

Yellow Headed Blackbird. April 18, 2008. Wikapedia, May 15, 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-headed_Blackbird

Twedt, D. J., and R. D. Crawford. 1995. Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus). In The Birds of North America, No. 192 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.

Yellow Headed Blackbird. May 17, 2008. http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/images/bird_id/yellow_headed_blackbird.jpg

Typha. May 22, 2008. Wikapedia, May 16, 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typha

Common Cattail. May21, 2008. http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/common-cattail-1.jpg

Flora Report- Cattail

Cattails (Typha Iatifolia)
The first discovered cattail was recorded in 1836, yet the rumor of the useful plant was spread out by 1888. By 1960 it was found all throughout the northern hemisphere. You can find cattails in marsh areas mostly in the northern part of the world but they can also be found in a variety of wetland habitats. They are one to seven meters tall and have a spongy hot dog like head on top of starchy flexible stems. Cattails need a wet muddy soil to grow, their roots spread horizontally beneath the surface of muddy ground to create an upright growth. Cattails often shrink ponds due to their large need of water; they convert the ponds into marsh areas then eventually into dry land. The process helps to prevent erosion.
Even though Cattails destroy some ponds the habitat provides a better home for both plants and animals. The animals that take advantage of the habitat are birds, amphibians, and insects. The birds often use the head of the cattails to make nests. The amphibians find shelter from the tall plants. And the insects sometimes feed off the plant. The downy fur was also used by Native Americans to start fires. The down in some pillows are from cattails as well. But this is not the only useful thing that cattails have to offer. The rhizomes are a delightful nutritious and energy-rich food source. The rhizomes are generally harvested from late fall to early spring. Cattails provide great living conditions and without them many species would cease to exist.

Observation 7

Site: Marsh/Pond area
Date:5/27/08
Time: 5:15
Temp: 59 degrees F
Weather: mostly cloudy, no wind, few sunny spots.
Soil: wet

When I first walked up to the site I saw birds scattered everywhere, yellow headed blackbirds, red winged blackbirds, robins, and crows. But about five minutes after my arrival the birds seemed to fly away except a few yellow headed black birds. I hypothesis that the birds were aware of my arrival and seemed threatened by me, except for the yellow headed blackbirds. Maybe the Yellow headed birds learn to deal with the pressure of predators and stayed to protect their nest and territory. Towards the end of the observation more birds came back. It has been a little while since I was last at the spot giving the grass and plants a lot of time to grow. I believe that the constant rain we have been having also helped to contribute to the growth. The cattail heads are still damaged and I didn't notice much change in their rebuilding process. The pond was mostly clear of algae except for a spot in the back that a couple cattail heads cover, shielding the pond from the rain. More dandelions and buckwheat have grown and are quickly sprouting up. The area seemed clean and filled with more life. I predict to start to see more birds in the area and maybe they will get used to my presents, hopefully the cattail heads show some more shape for next observation.

Observation 6

Site: Marsh/Pond area
Date: 5/21/08
Time: 7:13
Temp: 41 degrees F
Weather: Very cloudy, rain, no wind
Soil: wet

Not much has changed since the last observation. The rain drained out of the clouds embracing the flora with life. The grass around the area grew noticeably, as well as a few flowers. The cattail heads are slowly rebuilding and turning browner, possibly because of the birds have not been distressing them. A few Yellow Headed Blackbirds were perched on some willows, as well as one Red Winged Blackbird of in the distance. The birds never seemed to take flight probably because of the rain. There were no geese or insects around the pond, but the geese seem to have found a home across the road to the south.

Because of the decrees of change in the area I have decided to incorporate some ecological concepts into my report. First the marsh area provides a great place to live for small organisms. It gives biotic factors all the survival needs such as, food, water, suitable climate, shelter, and space. There is an amazing amount of biodiversity in the site. It is home to birds, insects, plants, moose, and many other organisms. There are a few instances of predator and prey in the site, for example the birds are predators to the insects. The birds help to keep the insect population in check. Although this can create a Intra specific competition between birds. Overall the site makes a great place for all species.

Fauna Report - Yellow Headed Blackbird

Yellow Headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus)

Across North America the Yellow Headed Blackbird is found nesting in wet marsh areas. The medium sized bird places its nest in highly vegetated wetlands, such as cattails. They usually nest in colonies often sharing their habitat closely with Red Winged Blackbird. However, the Yellow Headed Blackbird is dominant to the Red-winged Blackbird and displaces the smaller blackbird from the prime nesting spots. During nesting, the males often get very territorial and spend time perched close to their nets chasing away intruders. Wherever there are cattails you can find Yellow Headed Blackbird, and often in the western part of the U.S. They depend on the marsh to eat, sometimes catching insects in flight, and grass hoppers on the ground. They adapt to their environment by sharing the food with other species, such as robins, brewer blackbirds, red winged blackbirds, and crows. The bird has a very distinctive call, of a couple of light musical notes followed by a loud scratching note that sounds like a door hinge. This is also their mating call. The male and female Yellow Headed Blackbird are easy to tell apart. The male has a bright yellow head and chest as well as a white patch on the wing, and the female has a dark chest and an irregular yellow shaded on her head. After mating the female lays 3 eggs each with small black spots on them. They range from 21 to 23 cm in size and a wing span of 42 to 44 cm. Their weight is about 44 to 100 grams, which translates to 1.55 to 3.53 ounces. The Yellow Headed Blackbird does not play a big role in its environment, making its niche somewhat small, although it helps keep the insect population down. Yellow Headed Blackbirds are a superior part of the environment, and without them the population of other animals would be thrown of balance.

Observation 5

Site: Marsh/Pond area
Date: 5/19/08
Time: 5:05
Temp: 82 degrees F
Weather: partly cloudy, slight breez
Soil: dry

During this observation I saw many different kinds of birds; over the fifteen minutes I was there I saw two yellow headed blackbirds (one male one female), one brewers blackbird, two red winged blackbirds, one crow, three sparrows, and a few geese. Although only a few of these birds were right in the site , most were chirping around in the willows about 100 feet east of the Marsh area. I hypothesize that the birds go to the site later to feed, because during my first observations I went to the marsh around 8:00 and spotted more birds. The algae on the pond had turned bright white and green in the back, with only a thin layer in the front. I noticed that once again the site became greener and a few dandelions and buckwheat had nosed their way through the dry soil. The willows seem to be getting greener and disbursing green leaf things out of there limbs. Brown dust flew over the area (probably from the dike around the site) covering the grasses and scruffy cattails, which have yet to rebuild fully. But the biggest change was the population of insects. The bugs seemed to swarm the area, as well as a few butterflies. I will try to go to the site later to see more birds, and maybe after this week the cattail heads will reshape.

Observation 4

Site:Marsh Pond Area
Temp: 55 degrees F
Date:5/15/08
Weather: clear skies, breezy

During this observation I noticed a lot of flora changes. First, the site was already turning noticeably greener, especialy on the banks of the pond. Second, I discovered that the cattail heads rebuilt themselves more, except for a given few. Third, the willows in the back were changing color to a light brown. I saw no Yellow Headed Blackbirds this time, but around ten Red Winged Blackbirds chirping around in the grasses. On the perimiter of the site there is a small trench appearing, I think that it is from the rain last week. I saw no insects because of the wind, accept for a small fly that flew by towards the end of the observation. It seems like the algae on the pond changes every couple days or so, this time the pond was mostly covered again accept for a small opening in the back. Every once and a while a few geese flew over as well as some robins. The wind picked up and died down during the observation, it seems like it allways does. As I was leaving I saw about ten white feathers, I believe that the were swan feathers left behind after a nights rest. I see swans all the time but I would really like to see one at my feild study. I predict that I will see more birds and growth of plants, and hopefully a swan.

Observation 3

Site: Marsh/Pond area
Date:5/12/08
Time: 7:01
Weather: Partly cloudy, windy
Soil: Slightly damp

When I first came to the site I saw no signs of life, no birds, geese, ducks and insects. I noticed that is was really windy maybe scaring the animals away. Yet I could here the birds chirping, predicting that they were down in the grasses. Finally after five minutes or so I started to see a couple Yellow Headed Blackbirds and that same red winged bird I saw earlier, I later looked up the bird discovering that it is a Red Winged Blackbird. Then the insects started to roar in after the wind died down, then the geese soon followed. There were many differences from the last observation. First the pond was cleared from the algae and insects buzzed on it happily. Secondly the cattail heads and fallen grasses had began to rebuild themselves. And lastly all the vegetation had grown and turned greener possibly from the rain we had late last week. I predict more animals to come and for the vegetation to grow more. I am sure that if the weather is good it will attract more birds and hopefully some swans.

Observation 2

Site: Marsh/Pond area
Date: 5/8/08
Time: 8:35
Weather: Partly cloudy, slight breeze
Soil: Wet from rain

Since the last observation I already notice more plant vegetation. It seems as if there is more life in the area. I counted almost 10 yellow headed blackbirds, and saw almost 20 birds spread out all over the site. The birds seemed frantic, always flying around and chirping. I thought maybe they were feeding. Through out the observation the wind picked up and even more birds came to the site including robins and blackbirds, plus a new red winged bird I haven't identified. I also noticed more changes from last time. The cattail heads have bursted; possibly from the birds landing on them. I noticed there is algae all over the pond, and didn't see any geese in the pond. Instead the were around the premisis of the site. There are more grasses pushed down to the north east (pushed down the same way the wind blows). there were no bugs witch was surprising after the rain. I predict that the cattail heads will rebuild themselves and the site will become a home to more abiotic factors, I also think that the site well turn greener.

Observation #1 - Description of the Area

Site: Marsh/Pond Area
Date: 5/5/08
Time: 8:35
Temp: 52 Degrees F
Weather: Mostly Sunny
Soil: Wet (buried with huge cat tails)

The observation is located in the far north side of Rafter J (Jackson, WY) close to the two ponds. The area includes a marsh area with cat tails and a small pond in the middle, there are some small willows growing on the far side of the pond. The big cat tails provide a great place for birds to sit after searching in the grass for food. The pond provides a nice home for geese and ducks. Most of the plantation is cattails and tall grasses making the area mostly brown. The Biotic factors that can be seen mostly everyday are, birds, geese, ducks, cat tails, tall grasses, and bugs. There are mainly no biotic factors maybe some dead plants. I noticed that some of the grasses are fully pushed down towards the north east, I assume that it is from the mid day winds. The whole habitat size is around 50 yards by 50 yards. I could expect to see some moose or deer there in the next four weeks, because I have seen them around the area before, I also expect to see more birds and plants because of the nice spring weather.