Monday, August 28, 2017

About Bird Song


Continuing to share my warbler photos along with information about each species, from my latest book: "Warblers of Arizona, A Guide to Finding and Photographing Warblers in Southern Arizona." 



If you are interested in purchasing it, please email me at exclusivelywildlifephotos.com or info@azuregate.com.



About Bird Song:
I have purposely omitted discussion of bird song. This is because I am deaf. I do have a cochlear implant now and can hear some bird songs, but I can't distinguish one from another very well and I have no idea where the sound is coming from since I am only getting sound through one "ear". There are a few very distinct sounds I know (Elegant Trogon, Gila Woodpecker, Cardinal, Raven, Mexican Jay, the Gnatcatchers, and a few others). Hummingbirds I don't hear at all. So I can't really offer any great insight with regards to identifying birds by their songs.
Having said that, I know many birders who take great pride in being able to identify a bird by its sound. And clearly, knowing what direction to look when you hear a sound is very helpful in finding birds.
If this is a method of identifying warblers that you would like to learn, my suggestion would be 1) to get a CD of bird songs and listen over and over again to the most common Arizona warbler songs; or 2) as I mentioned there is software on the internet (such as iBird Pro, Sibley, Audubon, and Birdtunes for all birds or The Warbler Guide for warblers only) that can be used to learn particular bird songs. Once you have studied them, have someone test you. 

No comments:

Post a Comment