The following recordings are of birds calling over my house in Elkins Park, PA during the first week of October. Dominant thrushes during that time were Swainson's and Gray-cheeked, in about a 3:1 ratio, with a few Wood Thrushes and a one or two Hermit Thrushes and Veeries. Warblers were less frequent than in September with Common Yellowthroat and Blackpoll-type calls most common. Among the sparrows, White-throated was the most frequently heard. The highlight was a single American Bittern call. Some gray-cheeked thrush calls approached those of Bicknell's Thrush, and comments on the identification of these recordings would be welcomed.
All calls are presumptively identified as no birds were seen.
Gray-cheeked Thrush, typical calls, 4.45am
Buzzy variant, 5.10am
Gray-cheeked and Swainson's Thrush calls, 5.29am
Lower and higher calls, 4.56am
In this cut the gray-cheeked call is consistent with the appearance of Bicknell's, 11.53pm
A Swainson's Thrush variant "doubled" call, the bird using both syrinxes to create the sound, 9.43pm
A late Veery, 3.03am
An early Hermit Thrush, 2.45am
This strongly modulated call is similar in appearance to the buzzy Rose-breasted Grosbeak call as described on the Flight Calls DVD by Evans and O'Brien, 9.21pm
Another presumed Rose-breasted Grosbeak buzz, 10.59pm
The flight call of the Scarlet Tanager is a clear chu-wee, and seems to be less frequently heard at night than those of the thrushes,11.06pm
White-throated Sparrows began arriving in earnest in early October, 1.46am
Chipping Sparrow, 1.48am
Green Heron, 3.22am
American Bittern, 2.46am
This single owl wail may be an Eastern Screech-Owl, or possibly a Northern Saw-whet Owl; the call closely matches that on Cornell's Voices of North American Owls, Disc 2, cut 64. 11.48pm
Birds of the World Online previously The Birds of North America Online (BNA). Comprehensive information on all aspects of life history, including audio and video. By subscription.
Birdsong by the Seasons. Donald Kroodsma, Houghton Mifflin, 2009. Another great book with CDs from Dr Kroodsma.
Flight Calls of Migratory Birds WR Evans and M O'Brien. CD-ROM www.oldbird.org. Excellent source of information on flight calls
Nature's Music, The Science of Birdsong. Peter Marler and Hans Slabbekoorn. Elsevier Academic press. 2004. A treasure trove of information, advanced but very readable (comes with CD).
Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Eastern North America. Nathan Pieplow, 2017. Highly recommended, includes almost all known vocalizations of eastern US birds, with spectrograms and detailed analysis. Excellent!
Stokes Field Guide to Bird Song, Eastern Region, by Lang Elliot. 3 CDs. Of commercial recordings, this has the most comprehensive collection of songs and calls.
The Singing Life of Birds. Donald Kroodsma, Houghton Mifflin, 2005. Terrific book (plus CD), a must read.
The Songs of Wildbirds. Lang Elliott., Houghton Mifflin, 2005. Excellent photos with high quality recordings including some rare ones such as the flight song of the Western Meadowlark.
The Sound Approach to Birding. A guide to understanding bird sound. A. van de Berg, M Constantine, M. Robb. Superb discussion of bird calls and song with 2 CDs.
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