I love this post, even though, being in the UK, I'll probably never hear most of the birds you describe. I love listening to birdsong and have recently really developed an ear for the Green Woodpecker's laughing call, which has made me aware that this woodpecker (that drums very rarely) is actually much more common in my area than I had ever thought.
Coming to learn avian vocalizations is a doorway to such knowledge and awareness! I am glad you enjoyed reading, Juliet, and I thank you for your comment.
Thank you, Heidi—it was fun to write! A perk of birding is all the learning opportunities, and of course the chance to mimic birdsong. Thanks for reading.
I am by no means a birder, although I do know some birds in my area. For me, out front in my yard, it is like sitting and listening to an classical music orchestra. I hear the songs of all the birds raising their collective voices.
An orchestra is a great comparison, Perry. We are lucky to be its audience. And coming to be able to identify the musicians is an added bonus! Thank you.
Excellent post James, I like that point Sibley makes about needing to notice bird sounds in order to learn their songs - so true. My current favourites are the Black-capped Chickadees and Northern Cardinals as I hear them so frequently. As for warblers, I am always surprised by the volume of American Redstarts. They're such a small bird but sing so loudly it is quite impressive!
Thank you, Neil! The redstart is interesting—and varied! I figure sounds factor in to your hikes in many ways. That Sibley line was apt: even just knowing a sound is a bird isn’t always easy.
So many vocal species, the Red-winged Blackbird of course, spring’s soundtrack, so many. Bird sounds can be a rabbit hole, and I’ll always be a student.
I’ve heard and seen many of these from when I lived in New England 🤗 My Mom and grandma both loved to watch the birds.
My favorite picture in this sweet post is the Black-throated Blue Warbler, with a close second place for the yellow warbler. They have a fluffiness and a sweet personality which you’ve captured in your photos.
Oooffff… a third eye surgery. I know the eyes heal quickly but still… does this surgeon think it will solve things ?
Thank you for reading Teyani! I love that Black-throated Blue picture because it was such a special moment.
As for my eyes, my third was a little bit ago, this was an older post I reshared. Eyes heal quickly, but the thing about my surgeries is the brain has to play along too to merge images and mine is injured. At this point it just takes more waiting, and I see little improvements each day—I’ve also just gotten used to seeing incorrectly and know how to navigate it. Thank you, Teyani.l
Forgive me if this is an obvious question as I am new to your writing (and also to birding)—Where do you live? I am interested in region-specific guidance, local to me. I am in the New England
Thanks so much, Nate. For learning the warbler songs I recommend Larkwire. Not free, and I didn’t renew my subscription, but I never regretted spending that money on it.
Another reader in the UK, what a lovely piece. It made me long to be surrounded by completely new birdsong! We have no tanagers, vireos or cardinals here, thank you for sharing them and their calls. I’m working on something similar about our 12 British warblers, which thankfully are all just arriving for summer here, or starting to sing after a very dreary winter.
Glad you enjoyed this piece, Gem! I know nothing about British warblers, so look forward to reading what you write about them--so I can experience the same feeling of being surrounded by new birdsong.
This was a wonderful read. Thanks for making this post available.
"corvids are tough" - lately, I have started birding by ear, and in fact for the simple reason of identifying corvids by their calls. I have lived in Europe for 6 years now and initially, it was difficult to differentiate between rooks, carrion crows, and jackdaws. Then I tried by hearing them. Jackdaws have distinct shrill medium-pitched short caws, carrions short-pitched longer caws, rooks the same but lower frequency.
This was a great exercise and since then, I record a lot more sounds on my phone to train by ear. Eurasian wrens have the same wren sound as you described. Eurasian robins have longer songs. I still find it hard to distinguish Passerines of the family Paridae.
Thank you, Disha! I’m glad the essay encouraged you to keep gaining fluency with the sounds—and that sounds like a great exercise. A joy of birding by ear is it’s a never ending source of learning and challenges.
Your words allow me to hear the choir and the soloists in my head. Thank you for reposting. Maybe you can reprise this post annually just before spring migration.
Really enjoyed this one James. I recently hiked a newly opened trail not far from where I live. 27 different species were identified by my Merlin app in the first 10 minutes of my walk!
Glad you enjoyed it, Robert! It’s crazy how many birds there are—and we are so much more likely to hear than see them. Sounds like an auspicious start to your hike!
This was a gorgeous pieve. ❤️ I love my old bird books that have written out so many bird calls and songs as words. The yellowhammer (a bunting, I know there's an American bird that gets called that too) is supposedly saying "little bit of bread and no cheese". The local song thrushes (which Merlin keeps trying to tell me are American robins) say "gillypuff gillypuff" a lot. Also re woodpeckers and drumming I spent ages trying to search the other day (Google, but also asking jazz musician friends and music writers) if there are any jazz tracks where the drummer has purposely imitated a woodpecker. I figured it would be jazz if anything.
Thank you, Sarah! I cannot think of any songs where a drummer imitates a woodpecker--just some woodpecker-themed songs. It is nice to hear about your word comparisons for birdsong, makes me realize my avian knowledge is fairly limited, geographically. Something to work on. In a piece of yours you mentioned how Merlin was picking up an American Robin's song, which you called very unlikely. A good reminder that American Robins aren't likely for everybody, no matter how likely they've always been for me.
Beautiful photos! I've always loved birding by ear and had a special knack for it, but memory (not my ear) does grow a bit rusty with disuse so I feel like I have to relearn many songs each spring. I started out my career in birding, doing so on a marbled murrelet project in British Columbia where I got up at dawn to listen them commuting up or down a river. I spent a summer along the Rio Grande in New Mexico listening for SW Willow Flycatchers and Yellow-billed Cuckoos for the NFS. Since these are rare bird species, I passed the time getting to know the flourish of other birdsongs in the bosque. It's a great way to pass to the time and catch an occasional glimpse at a flashy bird.
Thank you, Stacey! Sounds like you have had quite the intriguing birding career—the best hours are often those close to dawn, with a bird soundtrack. Listening for cuckoos and flycatchers in New Mexico is enviable! Sounds like an amazing experience of immersion. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo’s song is a special one, I’d hear it sometimes in the mornings last summer.
I wouldn’t call myself a birder, but I have recently began familiarizing myself with these talkative avian friends hidden in the trees in my yard. I mostly hear the Carolina Wren and the Pine Warbler. The Wren dominates the singing. I live in an urban community and I’m lucky that we have places for them to sing. They outcompete the urban background noise as well as my own conversations sometimes.
The wren and the warbler are excellent birds to listen to! Glad to hear that they outcompete the urban noise so you get to regularly hear them. Thank you for reading.
I love this post, even though, being in the UK, I'll probably never hear most of the birds you describe. I love listening to birdsong and have recently really developed an ear for the Green Woodpecker's laughing call, which has made me aware that this woodpecker (that drums very rarely) is actually much more common in my area than I had ever thought.
Coming to learn avian vocalizations is a doorway to such knowledge and awareness! I am glad you enjoyed reading, Juliet, and I thank you for your comment.
Wonderful post, a field guide to song.
Thank you, Heidi—it was fun to write! A perk of birding is all the learning opportunities, and of course the chance to mimic birdsong. Thanks for reading.
Thank you, James. I also walk and listen for birds, learning to know them by their song. Today it was all about Red-Winged Blackbirds. Take care.
I am by no means a birder, although I do know some birds in my area. For me, out front in my yard, it is like sitting and listening to an classical music orchestra. I hear the songs of all the birds raising their collective voices.
An orchestra is a great comparison, Perry. We are lucky to be its audience. And coming to be able to identify the musicians is an added bonus! Thank you.
Excellent post James, I like that point Sibley makes about needing to notice bird sounds in order to learn their songs - so true. My current favourites are the Black-capped Chickadees and Northern Cardinals as I hear them so frequently. As for warblers, I am always surprised by the volume of American Redstarts. They're such a small bird but sing so loudly it is quite impressive!
Thank you, Neil! The redstart is interesting—and varied! I figure sounds factor in to your hikes in many ways. That Sibley line was apt: even just knowing a sound is a bird isn’t always easy.
So many vocal species, the Red-winged Blackbird of course, spring’s soundtrack, so many. Bird sounds can be a rabbit hole, and I’ll always be a student.
I’ve heard and seen many of these from when I lived in New England 🤗 My Mom and grandma both loved to watch the birds.
My favorite picture in this sweet post is the Black-throated Blue Warbler, with a close second place for the yellow warbler. They have a fluffiness and a sweet personality which you’ve captured in your photos.
Oooffff… a third eye surgery. I know the eyes heal quickly but still… does this surgeon think it will solve things ?
Thank you for reading Teyani! I love that Black-throated Blue picture because it was such a special moment.
As for my eyes, my third was a little bit ago, this was an older post I reshared. Eyes heal quickly, but the thing about my surgeries is the brain has to play along too to merge images and mine is injured. At this point it just takes more waiting, and I see little improvements each day—I’ve also just gotten used to seeing incorrectly and know how to navigate it. Thank you, Teyani.l
Your patience shows up in all aspects of your world.
Forgive me if this is an obvious question as I am new to your writing (and also to birding)—Where do you live? I am interested in region-specific guidance, local to me. I am in the New England
I am also in New England!
Perfect!
Epic post. On the verge of warbler season, I have once again failed to study their songs in advance. More fun to re-learn in the field anyway.
Thanks so much, Nate. For learning the warbler songs I recommend Larkwire. Not free, and I didn’t renew my subscription, but I never regretted spending that money on it.
Another reader in the UK, what a lovely piece. It made me long to be surrounded by completely new birdsong! We have no tanagers, vireos or cardinals here, thank you for sharing them and their calls. I’m working on something similar about our 12 British warblers, which thankfully are all just arriving for summer here, or starting to sing after a very dreary winter.
Glad you enjoyed this piece, Gem! I know nothing about British warblers, so look forward to reading what you write about them--so I can experience the same feeling of being surrounded by new birdsong.
Thank you for unlocking this, immediately bookmarking. I love your teaching style and deeply appreciate your work!
Thank you Scot, I am glad you enjoyed the post!
This was a wonderful read. Thanks for making this post available.
"corvids are tough" - lately, I have started birding by ear, and in fact for the simple reason of identifying corvids by their calls. I have lived in Europe for 6 years now and initially, it was difficult to differentiate between rooks, carrion crows, and jackdaws. Then I tried by hearing them. Jackdaws have distinct shrill medium-pitched short caws, carrions short-pitched longer caws, rooks the same but lower frequency.
This was a great exercise and since then, I record a lot more sounds on my phone to train by ear. Eurasian wrens have the same wren sound as you described. Eurasian robins have longer songs. I still find it hard to distinguish Passerines of the family Paridae.
Thank you, Disha! I’m glad the essay encouraged you to keep gaining fluency with the sounds—and that sounds like a great exercise. A joy of birding by ear is it’s a never ending source of learning and challenges.
Your words allow me to hear the choir and the soloists in my head. Thank you for reposting. Maybe you can reprise this post annually just before spring migration.
Thank you Diana. I like that idea of resharing this every migration!
Really enjoyed this one James. I recently hiked a newly opened trail not far from where I live. 27 different species were identified by my Merlin app in the first 10 minutes of my walk!
Glad you enjoyed it, Robert! It’s crazy how many birds there are—and we are so much more likely to hear than see them. Sounds like an auspicious start to your hike!
This was a gorgeous pieve. ❤️ I love my old bird books that have written out so many bird calls and songs as words. The yellowhammer (a bunting, I know there's an American bird that gets called that too) is supposedly saying "little bit of bread and no cheese". The local song thrushes (which Merlin keeps trying to tell me are American robins) say "gillypuff gillypuff" a lot. Also re woodpeckers and drumming I spent ages trying to search the other day (Google, but also asking jazz musician friends and music writers) if there are any jazz tracks where the drummer has purposely imitated a woodpecker. I figured it would be jazz if anything.
Thank you, Sarah! I cannot think of any songs where a drummer imitates a woodpecker--just some woodpecker-themed songs. It is nice to hear about your word comparisons for birdsong, makes me realize my avian knowledge is fairly limited, geographically. Something to work on. In a piece of yours you mentioned how Merlin was picking up an American Robin's song, which you called very unlikely. A good reminder that American Robins aren't likely for everybody, no matter how likely they've always been for me.
Very very rarely an American Robin will visit the UK, but it's an event that can make people "shake with excitement". https://www.birdguides.com/articles/rare-birds/rarity-finders-american-robin-in-east-sussex/
Beautiful photos! I've always loved birding by ear and had a special knack for it, but memory (not my ear) does grow a bit rusty with disuse so I feel like I have to relearn many songs each spring. I started out my career in birding, doing so on a marbled murrelet project in British Columbia where I got up at dawn to listen them commuting up or down a river. I spent a summer along the Rio Grande in New Mexico listening for SW Willow Flycatchers and Yellow-billed Cuckoos for the NFS. Since these are rare bird species, I passed the time getting to know the flourish of other birdsongs in the bosque. It's a great way to pass to the time and catch an occasional glimpse at a flashy bird.
Thank you, Stacey! Sounds like you have had quite the intriguing birding career—the best hours are often those close to dawn, with a bird soundtrack. Listening for cuckoos and flycatchers in New Mexico is enviable! Sounds like an amazing experience of immersion. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo’s song is a special one, I’d hear it sometimes in the mornings last summer.
I wouldn’t call myself a birder, but I have recently began familiarizing myself with these talkative avian friends hidden in the trees in my yard. I mostly hear the Carolina Wren and the Pine Warbler. The Wren dominates the singing. I live in an urban community and I’m lucky that we have places for them to sing. They outcompete the urban background noise as well as my own conversations sometimes.
Thank you for sharing!
The wren and the warbler are excellent birds to listen to! Glad to hear that they outcompete the urban noise so you get to regularly hear them. Thank you for reading.
Took two courses in “Bird Listening” with Portland Audubon. Totaling changed by birding experience. Wonderful way to locate and ID the birds.