Total Species Recorded: 21

My Big Recording Year is off to a good start! So far I have recorded 21 species towards my goal of 100. While that may seem like I’m on pace to reach 100 within weeks, it will steadily get more difficult to add to the list.

One thing I’m finding challenging is getting the birds to cooperate. In the winter, birds can be fairly quiet, and the ones who are vocalizing frequently startle into silence upon my presence. I joke that the birds have recording anxiety, for as soon as I hold up my microphone, the bird will suddenly go quiet. Perhaps it’s because I have suddenly stopped walking and pointed an object at them, prompting the bird to be more wary of my presence.

One of my favorite stories from this past week was my time spent in Oak Grove Park in Ripon. While it was a delightful walk amongst the grove of Oak Trees, I was collecting a growing list of failed recordings, mainly due to the target bird going quiet. The starlings were also singing in full force, drowning out everything I tried to capture. I want to record a starling in my neighborhood because their specific mimicry is interesting, so I did not want to expend energy on them this trip. I ended up deleting many of these recording attempts.

After an hour of walking, we stopped in an area filled with bushes. After adjusting to our presence, the bird chatter filled the air. Townsend’s, Orange-crowned, and Yellow-rumped Warblers were chipping in the trees, a Northern House Wren scolded an encroaching wren, and Oak Titmouse were calling to each other while foraging.

One fun lesson was hearing the subtle but distinct differences between a Fox Sparrow and Hermit Thrush call. The Fox Sparrow has a smacky quality to it, like having peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth while trying to say “tsk.” The similar-sounding Hermit Thrush instead gives a “Chup” call that has a cleaner tone. It’s not often that I hear a Fox Sparrow, let alone a Fox Sparrow and a Hermit Thrush at the same time, so it was a treat to study their differences in the field.

To read more posts about this challenge, see the dedicated Bird Recording Challenge 2026 web page or click on “Bird Recording Challenge 2026” under “Tags” at the bottom of this post.