recognized, but with other background calls we didn’ t.“ The black-capped chickadee, song two,” came next— even more confusing. This went on for five or six songs of more birds, all producing different versions. Listening to this entire album in hopes of learning bird calls was futile.“ Torture,” we called it, and we soon opted to head outside to watch and listen for the actual bird. This we found was the best way to learn bird calls. For me, it still is.
When I first started listening to bird sounds, I had trouble describing what I was hearing. Was it a whistle, a song, a squawk? When asked how many birds we saw on an early morning walk, the normal response was,“ We heard a lot more than we saw.”
Compounding the challenge, some songbirds can actually sing two notes simultaneously. I paid attention to pitch( high or low), tempo( speed), and how the tone sounded. I made rough descriptions of the bird sounds and then sought to match them with characterizations in the birder and field guides. Soon, I was able to differentiate between trills, buzzes, whether rich or thin, harsh, bell-like, flute-like, whistling, or metallic. It helped that I was in a marching band years before, because I sometimes compared bird sounds with instruments and
music— the melodic notes of a thrush, a rusty screech of the common grackle. Like voices of friends, you recognize the differences.
Many birders see the value in learning to recognize songs. People may speak of“ birding by ear” as if it is different from normal birding. It’ s not. It is something you are already doing. When I’ m outside, I never stop listening for birds. Sound is often the best way to detect when a bird is near.“ Birding by sight alone,” our professor told us,“ is like watching television with the sound turned off. You’ ll miss most of what’ s going on.”
Still, birding by ear can seem daunting when first getting started. I’ m overwhelmed with dozens of different species calling all at once during a summer sunrise. Picking out a single species is difficult. Will I ever learn them all?
I don’ t have to learn them all, especially not at first. The benefits of listening begin to kick in as soon as a few calls become familiar. Mastering one or two species is the key to learning more. Like learning an instrument or foreign language, you build up your mental library. With practice and repetition, you have more basis for comparisons.
Summer is upon us, and the sights and sounds of the Brown County woods are here. Happy birding! •
July / August 2023 • Our Brown County 57