[wisb] Re: Night migrants: Richland county
- From: Chris West <little_blue_birdie@xxxxxxx>
- To: <ryanbrady10@xxxxxxxxxxx>, "[Wisb]" <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2010 11:34:57 -0500
Hey all,
I'm not quite sure what Ryan means by "level of detail." The CD (which I also
own and use) provides a short auditory clip of what the authors deduced was
likely the species noted. Memorizing these flight calls isn't any different
from memorizing any other sound. Just practice and doing it a lot. There are
distinct differences between Dendroica Warblers and Oreothlypis Warblers.
Mainly in the buzziness of the call. There is some difference between calls
of species within the respective genera, but some are simply too close to ID
with much certainty.
However, I should also note (and I should've said this in my original post)
that ID of nocturnal flight calls is a very error prone field and highly
imprecise. Even the authors of the CD (who are far more expert than I'll ever
hope to be) leave a good number of flight calls unidentified citing them as
probable ___ or possible ____.
Certainly any warbler species that I (or actually anyone else for that matter)
report from flight calls should be noted at least as probable rather than
absolute fact since it is impossible to tell absolutely for certain. There
are some species that are easier to be more certain of than others.
Yellow-rumped, Chestnut-sided, Blue-winged, Black-throated Green and a few
others are rather distinctive, but there are several that sound too much alike
to ID with much accuracy.
Songs are fairly precise due to each being specific to a species and our
ability to match a song to a visible bird. With flight calls, you can't always
do that. I would also like to note that the nocturnal flight calls are often
identical to the daytime ones. This makes learning some of them easier since
you can match the sound to the bird. Especially now, during fall, many warblers
and other migrants communicate via "chips" and "zips." Another reason for
owning the CD is if you hear a chip note or flight call during the day, you'll
have some idea of what to look for and where.
Hope this helps and alleviates any confusion.
Happy Birding! --Chris W, Richland County
http://swallowtailedkite.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/swallowtailphoto
"The beauty and genius of a work of art may be reconceived, though its first
material expression be destroyed; a vanished harmony may yet again inspire the
composer; but when the last individual of a race of living things breathes no
more, another heaven and another earth must pass before such a one can be
again."
(From William Beebe's "The Bird: Its Form and Function," 1906)
----------------------------------------
> From: ryanbrady10@xxxxxxxxxxx
> To: wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [wisb] Re: Night migrants: Richland county
> Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2010 09:41:36 -0600
>
> Chris, can you share with the group how you are identifying many of the birds
> on your list? I have Bill Evans' CD of nocturnal flight calls
> (http://www.oldbird.org/) but it doesn't seem to provide the level of detail
> necessary for coming up with some of these ID's.
>
>
> Ryan Brady
> Washburn, Bayfield County, WI
> http://www.pbase.com/rbrady
>
>
>
>
>> From: little_blue_birdie@xxxxxxx
>> To: wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Subject: [wisb] Night migrants: Richland county
>> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 22:19:10 -0500
>>
>>
>> Hi all,
>> If you're still awake and aren't outside, get outside! The radar is
>> currently lit up like a lightbulb. I've had about 30 individuals go over in
>> the last hour.
>> So far, Veery, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Cape May
>> Warbler, Yellow Warbler, a Chestnut-sided, a couple Tennessees, Song
>> Sparrow, Field Sparrow, a few unidentified Dendroicas, a few unidentified
>> Oreothlypis sp, and a non-emberizid/non-parulid that was very familiar, but
>> I couldn't place.
>>
>> Hopefully tomorrow morning will be hopping! :D
>>
>>
>> Happy Birding! --Chris W, Richland County
>>
>> http://swallowtailedkite.blogspot.com/
>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/swallowtailphoto
>>
>> "The beauty and genius of a work of art may be reconceived, though its first
>> material expression be destroyed; a vanished harmony may yet again inspire
>> the composer; but when the last individual of a race of living things
>> breathes no more, another heaven and another earth must pass before such a
>> one can be again."
>>
>> (From William Beebe's "The Bird: Its Form and Function," 1906)
>>
>>
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>
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