A bird heard is as good as a bird seen
by natureisgrand - May 13th, 2011.Filed under: Noticing Nature.
I walked a few of the trails today to see what birds I could hear and see. Here is the list of birds heard:
- Red- Eyed Vireo
- Ovenbird
- Black-throated Blue Warbler
- Black-throated Green Warbler
- Black & White Warbler
- Nashville Warbler
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Least Flycatcher (near 236)
- Eastern Phoebe (near 236)
- White-throated Sparrow
- Chipping Sparrow
- Tree Swallow (in nestbox in Meadow)
- American Robin (saw several)
- Hermit Thrush
- Northern Flicker
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- American Goldfinch
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Blue Jay
- Broad-winged Hawk
I would like to say that I could recognize all of these species when I hear them, but that’s just not the case. I bring along a portable media player with all the local species vocals so I can listen and verify the ones I’m not sure about. If you’re thinking about learning to bird by ear, I strongly recommend the CD “Birding by Ear” as a starting point. Two great online resources for listening to bird recordings is www.allaboutbirds.org or Bird Songs of New York State. Just a warning, once you start birding by ear, every time you step outside your brain will be tempted by sounds that are ‘tuned out’ by most humans.
March 14th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
Want to share sighting of another bird, the winter wren – this was back in the early 80′s when surveying for the New York State Breeding Bird Atlas with my father who passed away in 1994 and was the funder of the first phase of construction of what is now the clubhouse. We were hiking back by the old railroad bed in woods that, at that time, looked very much like the spruce woods you can see in this lovely video of wrens singing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvdwamHv_fk They are tiny brown birds with a surprisingly beautiful and varied song. My dad heard it and we moved so very slowly in order to get a view into the small clearing, where it was sitting on an old stump, singing almost nonstop – magical! I hope they are still thriving back there.