Birds

One of the highlights of the semester for Kellam and his students is his single credit course called World Series of Birds, which includes a birding competition in Cape May, New Jersey. Because of the course and the excitement of his students who go bird watching at Twin Lakes Park, Kellam received a generous gift from an anonymous donor to continue his research and education in ornithology at Saint Vincent.

As an expert in woodpecker biology, his research has expanded more than ever before.

“In the past year, I have started three or four different research projects that are all designed to involve students and to include public outreach and education in ornithology,” explained Kellam. “Specifically, they include ornithology activism and encouraging people to love birds and making sure people know that you can study birds here and how important they are.”

One of Kellam’s projects takes place at the abandoned mine drainage ponds near the wetlands and studies the effects of poor water quality on the birds.

“There are 52 bird boxes [that] are meant to attract tree swallows and eastern bluebirds. The hypothesis is that reproductive output, the number of chicks, and the weight of both the chicks and the adults is reduced for those who build their nests near the ponds compared to the same species nesting farther away.”

But, there are challenges with studying these birds and the types of research being done. “If there is no pattern, then you keep doing it anyway until you find the pattern,” said Kellam. However, there is the question of whether the research is complete, or if there is more data that needs to be collected to see these differences. “I would be delighted if I found no difference, which is another reason why I need a lot of data.”

The WPNR serves as the perfect location to monitor birds and their nesting and eating patterns. With a camera directly facing a bird feeder that streams 24/7 on YouTube, Kellam has been able to gather data on the different types of birds who visit the feeder.

“[The bird feeder camera] has a lot of possibilities for research purposes because we can follow the seasonal patterns and study the migration, which can help us with measuring biodiversity at Winnie Palmer,” said Kellam.

Kellam began his sabbatical leave at the beginning of the Spring 2023 semester to focus on his research right on the SVC campus. Involving several student helpers and assistants, his research will focus heavily on woodpeckers, specifically their eating and nesting patterns.

“The goal of the research is to figure out how the woodpeckers know where to peck the wood to find food because it’s not random,” said Kellam. “We don’t know how they are using visual cues—are there cracks or insect holes—or are they able to hear and feel the reverberations in their beak.”

On top of his research, Kellam offers weekly bird walks at the Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve at 7:30 on Wednesday mornings during which those who go on the walk can learn to identify birds by sight and sound.

For both Kellam and Duennes, continuing their research has been a vital part of their careers. Fortunately for both, they have found a way to incorporate their passions into their work—something that many aspire to do. Passing on their knowledge and excitement for the little things in life, whether those things be hearing the birds chirping or watching the bugs come back to life, Kellam, Duennes, and their students look forward to those warmer days ahead. ♦