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Bird songs and calls. Advice needed! (1 Viewer)

David Pedder

Well-known member
General problem with ID.

I’ve been birding for a couple of years now and am quite pleased with my progress but I’m really struggling when it comes to identifying birds from their songs and calls. I’m OK with the obvious ones, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Nuthatch, Chiffchaff etc., but I can’t seem to progress any further than this. I have bought the Collins Field Guide and CDs (Geoff Sample) and play these at home and in the car but I’m just becoming more and more confused!

Any suggestions as to how I might improve my less than basic skills in this department? Thanks.
 
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Maybe you have a friendly birder who would go out into the field with you ...worth a million hours bashing the book and playing the tapes, I believe
 
Hi David,

Not that I'm any great expert, but I know exactly what you mean when you talk about the information overload that you get when listening to bird-call CDs etc.

What I tend to do more these days is just bone up on a few particular species that I might expect to see at a particular place I intend to visit - that seems to work OK and I am gradually building up a fair list of bird calls that I am familiar with.

I also find it a bit easier to actually see the bird that's calling, so I've invested in the Paul Doherty 'Birds of Britain and Europe' set of DVDs, which helps with both visual and audible id of less familiar birds.

As Jos says, it's also very helpful to have a mentor - I've got a couple of guys who I go out with when I can, which is fantastic. Mind you, it is the case that sometimes these guys (not that often, mind!) can't decide on particular calls either - and they are excellent birders with 40+ years experience!!

There's hope for us all.....


All the best.... Ruby
 
Ruby said:
What I tend to do more these days is just bone up on a few particular species that I might expect to see at a particular place I intend to visit - that seems to work OK and I am gradually building up a fair list of bird calls that I am familiar with.
I agree with that. I think listening to loads of songs/calls just overloads the brain (well, mine anyway ;)).

It is just time spent that counts in the end. The more you hear a particular call/song the easier it becomes.
 
This is such a difficult subject. I also was determined to crack it this year. In fact, i thought I had with my garden birds, then I went away for a week in early May, and came home and was just as confused as ever.

However, I have learnt a few birds this spring, mainly ones that I seem to have come across wherever I've been, such as reed bunting, reed warbler and willow warbler, so I feel I'm making progress. I agree with the comments about boning up before you go out on just the birds you think you will hear. Also looking at the dvds so that you get the visual as well as the audio. Although, actually, I also like to have the Geoff Sample tapes on as background "music" when I'm doing something else and every now and then I'll hear a song in them that I listen to with more interest.

Bill Oddie in Springwatch alluded to how difficult it is to learn last week. He says it is just a question of years and years of experience. I think I'll just have to be happy that I've learnt a few this year, and hope I learn a few more next year.
 
Try following up every call that you don't recognise. Don't just shrug and walk off after not seeing it after a few minutes - really stalk it until you get a good view and know what it is. I guarantee, the next time you hear it you'll know what it is, or at least what it isn't or what it sounds like. The effort of spending 10 or 20 mins actually stalking it and really persevering after the bird seems to drive it into the brain much better than any CD. It focuses your attention, and memory, much better.
 
Here is what I have done. Take notes as you listen to your tapes or CDs. Do the same thing that you did in school while listening to your professor's lectures. A visual learner should try to picture the sound by making some type of notation on paper. My shorthand includes -Long line for notes held long and short lines or dots for shorter ones. High on the paper for high notes and low for low notes. A warble is a WWW. Also note any other common sounds and rhythm-for example a field sparrow is like a ping pong ball falling on a table. Etc. Come up with your own code.

In the field-Hear a bird, try to ID it, then verify it by sight. Can't see it-make a notation, repeat it vocally as much as possible, try to make an association (sounds like...) and then at home try to hear it on the CDs. Recorders won't pick up a vocalization many times but will pick up you repeating what you heard in the field and will help you recall the vocalization.

I really like the other tips and will try them myself: 1. Limit your lessons to just a few at a time. 2. Go with some other birder. 3. Don't just shrug off what you hear- stalk it.

I found out yesterday that an Indigo Bunting and a Cardinal have much the same call--that chinck sound that sounds to me like someone hitting two stones together. I have both in my local patch right now and always assumed Cardinal but I heard the chinck but I saw an Indigo making the same call yesterday. I love learning something challenging and I bird calls are very challenging for me.
 
Offord said:
Try following up every call that you don't recognise. Don't just shrug and walk off after not seeing it after a few minutes - really stalk it until you get a good view and know what it is. I guarantee, the next time you hear it you'll know what it is, or at least what it isn't or what it sounds like. The effort of spending 10 or 20 mins actually stalking it and really persevering after the bird seems to drive it into the brain much better than any CD. It focuses your attention, and memory, much better.

I agree completely: hearing a sound you don't recognise and following it up with fieldcraft until you can actually see the thing open its beak is so memorable. And don't worry about how many times you fail to see the bird, you will start to remember the song without knowing what it is and that reinforces the memory when you finally track it down. I still recall stalking my first Wood Warbler in 1973 as if it was yesterday (can't remember what I did yesterday, though).

Perhaps I'm weird, but another thing I do is to describe the song and bird in my mind in a way that sticks. Example: I think that Reed Buntings look like they think they can sing and certainly go for it, but all that comes out is a daft little rattle.
 
I'm not very good at it, but it is best to approach it as a fun new angle to birding, not as an impossible task.

Some songs are pretty distinct. For instance I only had to hear a Nuthach once to remember it forever.
 
John Jackson said:
Example: I think that Reed Buntings look like they think they can sing and certainly go for it, but all that comes out is a daft little rattle.

Brilliant. That's exactly it isn't it. I've been trying to describe it to my family all summer and you've described it perfectly. It's a most pathetic noise, but presumably female reed buntings find it alluring.

I also agree with the "stalking everything you hear" idea. When I think about it, that was what I did with the few birds I've learnt this year, so I know it works.
 
This, more than all others, is a skill you need to continually keep up with. I do not forget the visual stuff as easily.
 
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