Birdsong!

[Simpo Two]

Suddenly there is noticeable birdsong in my garden today. The weather doesn't seem any better than last week so I wonder what's brought it on. Is there one day each spring when the birds wake up?

[Boosted LS1]

Partly a break in the st weather of late as well as warmer temps and longer daylight hours. They've been nest building for a while so need to proclaim their territories.

[Lotobear]

When I hear my first Skylark and then the Curlews I will know that Spring has sprung!

...but yes more activity in my garden too, which is nice.

[Lotobear]

Spring certainly had sprung here yesterday (Cumbria), it was beautiful - out and about a woodpecker was hammering away and I heard a skylark last week up on the moors.

Today, back to cold and rain

[blueg33]

First skylark for us (Cotswolds) was 2 weeks ago, birds are now deafening at dawn.

Hares are now seen more frequently too

[mrsshpub]

If you're interested in identifying birdsong, I can recommend this app, developed by Cornell University. It's free and has downloadable data sets for various parts of the world:

https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

It also has a photo ID function.

[blueg33]

Great app. Identified a Greenfinch for me today which was just a silhouette high in the tree but singing its head off n

[Lotobear]

There was a gorgeous little Wren in our hedge yesterday making one hell of a racket for one so small - such pert little creatures, possibly my favourite bird of all

[Simpo Two]

Heard a strange one today - a very rapid clicking sound, about 10 per second. Couldn't see a bird but what was it?

[Boosted LS1]

Great tits make all sorts of calls. Could it have been one of those? Failing that, maybe a capercaille lol. https://www.british-birdsongs.uk/western-capercail...

[snuffy]

mrsshpub said:

If you're interested in identifying birdsong, I can recommend this app, developed by Cornell University. It's free and has downloadable data sets for various parts of the world:

https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

It also has a photo ID function.

Both me and the missus have that, it's very good.

But it doesn't recognise a chicken !

[thepritch]

Up here in the NE (Scot) my father maintains we are a good few weeks behind the rest of the UK with seasons.

It was just before the weekend we noticed a big increase in birdsong - just beautiful We are in a forest and there is always bird song, but the levels got turned up to 11 !!

[Simpo Two]

Boosted LS1 said:

Great tits make all sorts of calls. Could it have been one of those? Failing that, maybe a capercaille lol. https://www.british-birdsongs.uk/western-capercail...

Nope. Google suggests it might have been a starling, but I can't find an audio clip the same.

[Error_404_Username_not_found]

mrsshpub said:

If you're interested in identifying birdsong, I can recommend this app, developed by Cornell University. It's free and has downloadable data sets for various parts of the world:

https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

It also has a photo ID function.

Wow,this is brilliant.
Thank you!

[Boosted LS1]

Simpo Two said:

Boosted LS1 said:

Great tits make all sorts of calls. Could it have been one of those? Failing that, maybe a capercaille lol. https://www.british-birdsongs.uk/western-capercail...

Nope. Google suggests it might have been a starling, but I can't find an audio clip the same.

What about a wren? They're banging it out at the moment. Repetitive, not quite clicks though.

[Simpo Two]

Nope, definitely clicks. Like a speeded up woodpecker.

[Nightmare]

Remember starlings are amazing mimics. Where I grew up we had one which copied lorries reversing and another which sounded like a fax machine. Both pretty much indistinguishable from the real thing. Not finding a clip of it really doesn’t mean much with starlings! We also have a high speed clicker here and it’s a def a starling

[Boosted LS1]

Is it this noise? listen for a few moments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80klTeC_OYE

[Simpo Two]

Boosted LS1 said:

Is it this noise? listen for a few moments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80klTeC_OYE

That's it! At 34". Thanks for the link.

Nightmare said:

...sounded like a fax machine.

I wonder what evolutionary advantage is gained by sounding like a fax machine? Maybe they are transmitting documents...!

[Hereward]

Nightmare said:

Remember starlings are amazing mimics. Where I grew up we had one which copied lorries reversing and another which sounded like a fax machine. Both pretty much indistinguishable from the real thing. Not finding a clip of it really doesn’t mean much with starlings! We also have a high speed clicker here and it’s a def a starling

Starlings are sensational. 1 minute of Starling magic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcImivnimdo