Tuesday, March 10, 2009

For the Birds

At 5am this morning, it sounded like a jungle outside my bedroom window. The few evergreens in the backyard do nothing to muffle the sounds of nature that are growing louder every day. With the weather cooperating so nicely, I've left a few windows open the past few nights. I don't know what all the fuss was about, but someone wasn't happy.

I need a resource. I know some of my regular visitors are bird enthusiasts. I want to know what I'm hearing. Anyone know of a good site I can visit to learn the bird calls native to my area? I'd appreciate any pointers.

It's 52 and sunny. Another work day. I need to bring my tender plants back inside tonight. The forecast calls for 49 tonight, but I have a feeling it may dip a little lower. I wouldn't want to lose these plants I've been babying all winter and growing from seed for the past month. Still, spring is just around the corner. The birds know it too.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like to recognize the bird sounds, too. A couple of years ago I bought a book about birds that is very helpful for identification. The book is at home and I'm not and I have several such field guides but I think it is this one: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51TGA36J2WL._SL500_AA240_.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Carolinas-Field-Guide-Second/dp/1591930669&usg=__oTTFz2aNhlFYSymeDG1MsBwX8zY=&h=240&w=240&sz=12&hl=en&start=30&um=1&tbnid=CvbgL_-8pgCyZM:&tbnh=110&tbnw=110&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcarolina%2527s%2Bbird%2Bidentification%2Bbook%2Bwith%2Bcd%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3DWsg%26sa%3DN%26start%3D20%26um%3D1. It has a color coded index on the edge of the pages. Birds are grouped by main color since that is probably the first thing you see when you spot an "unknown". AND there is a CD included with recordings of the bird calls and songs. Is that cool, or what?

There are lots of similar books available online and there are websites where you can play clips of bird sounds. It shouldn't be too difficult to find something helpful.

Linda in SC

Tom - 7th Street Cottage said...

Thanks Linda, that's exactly what I'm looking for. I should run to the library and see if they have it.

Kris said...

I'm with you, Tom. There are some birds I only seem to hear, not see and it would be terrific to be able to identify them.

Nice touch with the aerial map. I wish I had some 'wilds' where surprises abound! "Here there be dragons?" ;-)