Eileen, I'm reasonably sure it's a Red-winged Blackbird. The only other
possibility I can think of would be a Virginia Rail, or possibly a Sora, but
Red-winged BB seems more likely.
Peter Fissel
Madison WI
________________________________
From: wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on behalf
of eileenworman@xxxxxxxxxxx <eileenworman@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2017 1:42 PM
To: 'wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'
Subject: [wisb] Mystery bird calling in cattails & nesting Bluebirds,
Richfield, Washington County
I have recorded this raspy sounding bird (I'm assuming it's a bird!)
calling from the cattails in our backyard at night, in hopes that
someone can help me with the ID. It's faint, but if you listen closely
you should hear its five beat sound, then a six beat one, which is
more commonly heard, and then another five beats. It does call during
the day, too. It showed up about a week or so ago and I have never
seen it.
We do have Marsh Wrens, Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Yellowthroats,
occasional Sedge Wrens and Swamp Sparrows out there, but I don't think
that's what this is.
Here's my Flickr link:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/beanheadwisconsin/36029487865/
[X]Help! I need somebody...to tell me what bird is in the cattails
:)<https://www.flickr.com/photos/beanheadwisconsin/36029487865/>
Hoping that some expert birders out there can help me ID the bird that is
making the raspy, five and/or six-beat single note in our cattails near the
creek, in this nighttime video of mine, taken from the deck. You can hear it
right off the bat in this clip, first with five beats, then a short time later,
the six beats (with an emphasis on the last beat), then the five beats again
before I stopped recording. It does sing during the day, too, but it's a bit
easier to hear at night, with the frogs as the only other competition. Usually
the six-beat sound is what I'm hearing, but sometimes it does the five beats
instead. I just can't figure out what bird it is. We have Marsh Wrens, Swamp
Sparrows, Common Yellowthroats, and Red-winged Blackbirds regularly in this
spot, but to my knowledge, none of them also make this sound. We also have
heard a Sedge Wren on occasion. This bird seems to have shown up in the past
week or so. Of course I've never seen it flying in or out of the cattails,
either. Any ideas? I appreciate any help with an ID. (I've posted this to the
WI Birding List and maybe someone there will be able to help.) Of course my
title is inspired by The Beatles:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWP6Qki8mWc<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWP6Qki8mWc>
[https://www.bing.com/th?id=OVP.qRuNlcBDuXFcG_tzcrPwBwHmFo&pid=Api]<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWP6Qki8mWc>
The Beatles "Help" Live 1965 (Reelin' In The Years
Archives)<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWP6Qki8mWc>
www.youtube.com
This great live version of "Help" comes from a 6-song set filmed for British
television in August of 1965, two weeks before their famed Shea Stadium concert
in New ...
[https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/36029487865_4a649349bf_b.jpg] ;
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/beanheadwisconsin/36029487865/>
[https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/36029487865_4a649349bf_b.jpg]
And I am thrilled that after many trials and tribulations we have a
pair of Eastern Bluebirds in one of our nest boxes feeding their young
right now. It took a few tries, and a few different boxes in the yard,
but they finally settled in the backyard. I am crossing my fingers and
toes that these four youngsters will fledge successfully in the next
week.
Here are links to a couple pix on Flickr, plus you can see other pix
of the adults in my photo stream, too:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/beanheadwisconsin/35706401611/in/dateposted/
[X]Announcing the arrival of
Bluebirds...<https://www.flickr.com/photos/beanheadwisconsin/35706401611/in/dateposted/>
I'm pretty sure I cannot express just how thrilled I am that our resident pair
of Eastern Bluebirds have finally had some success nesting in our yard! I could
tell over the past few days that their behavior had changed and they are now
bringing insects into the box on a regular basis. I decided to take a peek
inside the box yesterday afternoon while both parents were out of the yard. Not
a great shot, but one that lets me know they finally have some nestlings in
there. I think there are three hatched and as you can see there's one yet to
come. I'm highlighting the little cracks in the egg for you, too. Now if we can
just get through the next couple of weeks without any predators showing
up...and if I have to I'll start sleeping in the backyard with a flashlight on
the box...haha. Comp is SOOC, I had to tweak the contrast a bit. :) You can
read about these pretty birds here:
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Bluebird/id<https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Bluebird/id>
[https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/PHOTO/LARGE/eastern_bluebird_glamor.jpg]<https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Bluebird/id>
Eastern Bluebird, Identification, All About Birds
...<https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Bluebird/id>
www.allaboutbirds.org
Learn how to identify Eastern Bluebird, its life history, cool facts, sounds
and calls, and watch videos. Most of the country drives during an eastern North
American ...
[https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4265/35706401611_71fac65829_b.jpg] ;
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/beanheadwisconsin/35706401611/>
[https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4265/35706401611_71fac65829_b.jpg]
and
https://www.flickr.com/photos/beanheadwisconsin/35157974823/in/dateposted/
[X]Bluebirds continuing to
grow...<https://www.flickr.com/photos/beanheadwisconsin/35157974823/in/dateposted/>
Again, I can't tell you just how excited I am to be witnessing the progression
of these dear little bluebirds who are inside the nest box in our backyard. As
you can see, this week we have four that have hatched. Last week's photo showed
three and one egg. I've reposted that photo in the first comment section. The
parents are busily feeding them and it seems I've only noticed the male
bluebird doing the fecal sac removal duty. He's so dedicated! Dad gets an
insect, stops on a branch briefly before entering the box, then quickly
delivers the goods and flies off to get more food. Mom, on the other hand,
pauses for minutes at a time on the branch before entering the box, then after
feeding the birds, she goes back into the tree branches for another few minutes
before heading off for more food. It's interesting watching them and their
behavior at this special time. Another couple of weeks of this and hopefully
we'll have some fledglings! Comp is SOOC, contrast was ever-so-slightly
tweaked. The adults seem to be okay with me peeking inside the box.
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Bluebird/id<https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Bluebird/id>
[https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/35157974823_d9096c18e0_b.jpg] ;
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/beanheadwisconsin/35157974823/>
[https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/35157974823_d9096c18e0_b.jpg]
Today I reached 84 species in the yard when I had a couple
Black-billed Cuckoos show up, which was a thrill except that I
couldn't get any pix of them. Not a bad yard total for less than four
months of living here in Richfield.
Eileen Worman
Richfield, Washington County
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