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Tag: Urban Birding

Bird Sound Recordings

Bird Sound Recordings

Savannah Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow, Bolsa Chica, 2018

I bird a lot by ear. It’s challenging and yet highly rewarding. It opens up a new world allowing me to discover the birds of the day, which is especially useful if I don’t have my binoculars with me. I’m still learning so much as there are countless songs, calls, and chip notes to memorize. Even birds that I’m quite familiar with will surprise me with “new” material.

Tree Swallow

Tree Swallow, Coyote Hills RP, 2017

Imagine my delight when eBird and the Macaulay Library released two sound challenges. The April eBird challenge is to submit 20 checklists with a recording and/or photo. Macaulay Library has an even loftier goal of asking birders to submit 90 recordings through the end of October.

Excited, I tried my first recording on my Samsung Galaxy smartphone using Voice Record Pro. I downloaded Audacity to process my recordings. I watched tutorials on how to process and submit recordings according to Macaulay Library standards. There was a bit of a learning curve but I got the hang of it.

As I recorded more, I started to realize how much background noise is picked up. The hum of distant traffic, a bike or car racing by, conversations by hikers, and the ever-present ambulance and police sirens. I began to realize how much I tune out these sound bites constantly. I was frustrated with my noisy recordings. They weren’t clean and clear – why would they want to utilize these?

Mottled Duck

Mottled Duck, Texas, 2018

It dawned on me that this is my birding world. I bird in the buzz of an urban environment. The birds are still here. They are competing with the noise. Capturing my experience for researchers will hopefully contribute to efforts to understand the urban bird experience. So, I will continue to submit my noisy pieces and be more thankful for those rare moments of complete silence surrounding me when the opportunity arises.

Hutton's Vireo

Hutton’s Vireo, William R Mason RP, 2019

Listen Carefully: Lesser Goldfinch Songs

Listen Carefully: Lesser Goldfinch Songs

Lesser Goldfinch

Lesser Goldfinch, Pt. Pinole Regional Shoreline, 2015

I like to walk fast. Zip around here and there. Although when I’m birding, I’m averaging about one mile an hour. But when not birding I’m speedy.

Recently my foot has been giving me problems, and the last couple of days it’s forced me to walk around much slower than I prefer. I take it in stride and try to enjoy the new sights and sounds of an otherwise familiar area. Colors are springing up in gardens and birds are more active as they gather nesting materials and fill the air with songs.

Garden Flower

Garden Flower, Berkeley, 2010

Yesterday I spotted a Lesser Goldfinch brightly singing in the early evening in a small tree next to a medical building. Although I was on my way home and my mind was preoccupied with throwing together dinner, I stopped and listened. Familiar dips and crunchy chips filled the air. I heard a Chestnut-backed Chickadee call, but couldn’t find the bird. I heard it again, only to realize that the goldfinch made the call! My attention completely focused on the Goldie and its singing, I heard it demonstrate two more calls: an Oak Titmouse and a Black Phoebe. I ran home and a quick Google search confirmed that Lesser Goldfinches do in fact mimic, although ornithologists are not clear why. What a delightful thing to discover, all because I had been walking slower and enjoying the experience!