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Originally Posted by Wild-Woman I wish there was a quick and easy way of learning bird song. I know the basics but it's hard to pick out one song in the dawn chorus. I've been on the RSPB site and listened but I think it must be something that is learnt through years of experience.
Is anyone on WAB good at it? WW |
I'm not bad, though I put it down as you say, to experience as I have been fascinated since I was a child, my Aunt gave me a 'Dartington Birdsong' tape when I was seven and I used to listen to it going to sleep at night. It's like learing a foreign language really and you do learn much better as a child, I think they found that you use a different part of the brain for learning languages when you are a child..... If only you could tap back into that as an adult!
I'm still learning all the time but it takes much more effort to get it to go into my brain and make it stick!
Hints I would give would be of course to get out and watch the bird singing wherever possible, pay close attention to what kind of habitat you're in when you hear a bird as you can use this to help with the ID in the future - it also helps learn by association too.
Learn the common birds first then your ears are more likely to pick up something a little more unusual out of the song around you, that's how I learnt both Redstart and Black Redstart - I otherwise would have missed both these birds.
Don't be afraid to id by a process of elimination for example 'well it's rich and fluty song but it's not repeating phrases - so it's not a songthrush - what other thrush like birds could it be?'.
I find standing still and closing my eyes helps my brain focus on identifying the number or location of a singing bird/s and once it gets above three birds (six Nightingale at Fingringhoe Wick - how lucky was I!!!) I start pointing to where the noise is coming from to help keep track of those I've already counted. Ok I look a bit of an idiot, but I'm used to that, I've had years of practice he he he
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Learning birdsong has lots of benefits but one of the most useful for me is the kingfisher - it has a distinctive but easily missed call and they so frequently announce that they are flying down the river towards you and then when you hear it, you know to stand still and not to blink and you see so many more little blue bullets that you would otherwise have totally missed and kingfishers are always a treat .