Carol,
You have posted a good question and I see that you
have received several responses already. I use
different CD's at different times. There are really 2
main CD styles, those that teach you what to listen
for and those that provide the name of the bird
followed by a sound track.
When learning songs for the first time, the teaching
style is very helpful! I usually refresh my memory
each spring and I listen to them while riding around
in my car. Petersons Birding by Ear series is
exceptional. I have all 3 sets and highly reccomend
all of them.
At other times I want to hear a specific species, and
that is when I turn to the other style. Maybe I want
to study up on a specific bird or two... or I hear a
bird and think I know what it is, but want to check
sound to double check. Finally, songs can be used to
get a response from birds. This should be used
sparingly because they can become unresponsive, but is
still a tool. Stokes is one option that has already
been mentioned, but there are others. The tracks do
seem to be a bit longer than those on The Peterson
Field Guide Series. If you check ABA there will
probably be others. I have an excellent collection
entitled: Bird Songs of the Rocky Mountain States and
Provinces. It by far has the longest and most
complete tracks of any set I own. There should be
something like this available for Eastern states, but
I don't know for sure.
Another very handy piece of technology is the IPOD. I
don't believe anyone else has addressed this gem. I
keep all my relevent sound tracks on my IPOD in my
car. Some people have handy little speakers and keep
them in their pockets, but I haven't gotten that
advanced yet. Anyway, I love to have it as a
reference tool. Last year I thought I heard some
Rusty Blackbirds, so before I pulled out of the
parking lot to leave I played the song for myself.
Well an entire flock of them flew over by my car and
started calling!
I hope you have found this information useful. Please
let me know if you have any questions. Good luck &
enjoy!
Candice Lowther
Bristow, VA
--- Carol Laing <cplaing@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi everyone,http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/va-bird
I'm interested in purchasing Bird Song
Identification CD's. Which one's do
you recommend for a beginning birder. Seems I have
heard that Peterson's and
Stokes both are good. Also, if you have one, where
did you get it? Feel free
to reply off list if you so desire. Thanks and Happy
Birding.
Carol Laing
Front Royal, VA
_______________________________________________
va-bird mailing list
Va-bird is a service of the Virginia Society of
Ornithology. http://www.virginiabirds.net/
