Henslow's Sparrows at Piney Tract, PA

On May 30th, 2009 I made the trip to Clarion, PA to see Henslow's Sparrows at the reclaimed strip mines at Piney Tract IBA, where I'd read there may be 100 pairs.

Henslow's Sparrows have a short, insect-like song that has been famously described as "one of the poorest of vocal efforts of any bird" by Roger Tory Peterson. Each male sings a single song that is made up of about five to seven notes. I recorded five different males; two had essentially identical songs, another two differed only by an extra introductory note by one of them, and the fifth had a very different song. So there were three distinctly different songs in a sample of five.
These birds were recorded in the afternoon (Henslow's Sparrows also sing at night), and they mostly sang from the small bushes that dotted the grasslands:


Henslow's Sparrow breeding habitat at Piney Tract IBA









Note: when observing Henslow's Sparrows, the green tinge of the head is not obvious in a lot of views, but they are readily told from Grasshopper Sparrows by the necklace across their breasts.


These two had nearly identical songs, the first and last notes being slightly diferent:





















The next two differed by only by an additional introductory note by one bird:




















The next had a song that is noticeably different even by ear.












It would be interesting to know how many different songs there are among this population. As can be seen on the sonagrams, it is only our inability to decipher the song's complexity that makes it a "poor vocal effort".


Piney Tract also had many Savannah and Grasshopper Sparrows, Bobolinks and Eastern Meadowlarks, and I was fortunate enough to see a male Northern Harrier performing its somersaulting flight display. A place that was well worth the 300 mile trip from Philadelphia.

Mimid songs

Gray Catbird song including mimicry of Wood Thrush (9, 19, 32s), American Robin (2, 27, 38s) and Common Grackle (24, 49s). Also possible Eurasian Starling (11s) and Blue Jay (34s),(June, PA).

American Robin at 2s







Wood Thrush at 19s






Common Grackle at 24s






Song featuring frequent Acadian Flycatcher mimicry, and Ovenbird (88s), Carolina Wren 181s), Carolina Chickadee (186s)(June, PA).


A simpler song with two different phrases (July, NJ)










Another simple song with Blue Jay-like phrases (June, PA).











This bird was displaying in front of another bird and singing a subdued song with repeated phrases, including mimicry of Eastern Kingbird at 6s (May, NJ)

phrases 5-8 on the recording









Another example of the repetitive song, and again the singing bird was displaying to another (May, PA).











On other occasions the song shows much more variety. This bird sang continuously for over six minutes, towards the end dropping down into a bush to sing with reduced volume, at which point another bird emerged from the bush, most likely a mate (May, PA).


Northern Mockingbird featuring a number of imitations, including (in order of appearance) Northern Flicker, American Kestrel, American Robin, Greater Yellowlegs, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Hairy Woodpecker, Virginia Rail, Carolina Wren, Blue Jay and Northern Cardinal (May, NJ). Mockingbirds are unusual among birds in that they continue to add to their repertoire throughout life (see Mimicry I).

Northern Flicker imitation at 4s







American Kestrel imitation at 10s







Greater Yellowlegs imitation at 19s










Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Hairy Wood-pecker imitation at 24s









Virginia Rail imitation at 38s








Northern Mockingbirds sing in the fall while establishing winter territories (Oct, PA)












Songs and calls of about six Northern Mockingbirds in close proximity (Oct, PA)





The Brown Thrasher has thousands of different songs, each of which it often repeats twice (with Chipping Sparrow calls, May, NJ).



















Brown Thrasher whisper song.
This newly arrived Brown Thrasher sang high in a tree then dropped down low into a bush and began singing a whisper song, before rising again to sing the primary song after about 15 minutes.
The whisper song is heard in aggressive interactions or close to a female (BNA). There did not appear to be another bird in close proximity, but another male later began singing not far away (heard in the background of the primary song recording below). There is some mimicry including American Robin at 21s, Ruby-crowned Kinglet at 24s and Carolina Wren jeer at 34s. The bird was only about ten feet from the microphone.
(Blue Jay calling first 20s, 2.00pm, mid-April, PA).

Sonagrams from 23s onwards.








Primary song by the same bird.

Shorebird calls III : Woodcock and Snipe

American Woodcock peent at dusk and dawn from the ground before rising into the air to perform their flight display. Although they are heard more often in February through early spring, the calls can be heard even in December if the weather is mild.
(dawn, Feb, NJ)










A soft croak precedes each peent, but a peent does not always follow the croak. In this recording, the bird has just completed its final (12th) flight display of the evening (the period of flight displays lasted 20 minutes, began 17 minutes after sunset, 6 minutes after the first peent). The bird is heard landing, peents a few times, and then begins walking, uttering only croaks (7.44pm, mid-Mar, PA).



An aggressive rattle is often heard when a male flies over a rival male. The twittering of the wings stops during the rattle in both of these examples(6.21am, Mar, PA).

(7.31pm, Mar, PA).



A single flight display (with other birds peenting from the ground,7.34pm, Mar, PA).

At the end of a flight the vocal chirping stops a few seconds before the birds lands at 11s (7.25pm, Mar, PA)


This recording begins with a bird at the height of a display flight, and ends with a second, complete, flight display, with peents in between.
(5.50am, Feb, NJ)

continuous mechanical twittering during ascent





intermittent twittering and chirping at peak




continuous vocal chirping during descent




Multiple (at least seven) males peenting in a field before dawn. Peenting began at 6.14am, and continued until 6.38am, half an hour before sunrise (6.27am, Mar, PA).


Flushed bird (7.55pm, Mar, PA).


Alarm call "scaip" of Wilson's Snipe, also the flight call (after sunset, April, PA)










Other calls of Wilson's Snipe are usually only heard on the breeding grounds:

Jick call with winnowing (the flight display sound) in the background (May, ND).












The winnowing sound is made by the tail feathers (May, ND).

time scale reduced










Chipper call from the top of a spruce (June, AK).











Distress call from adult bird with recently hatched chicks (June, AK).












Call of a chick (the chick was stranded in the middle of a road and was picked up and placed in a safer location nearby, June, AK).

Shorebird calls II : Plovers

Black-bellied Plovers with Semipalmated Plovers in the background, contact/flight calls (May, NJ).



Pluvialis plovers have two song types given in flight on the breeding grounds, wailing (also called territorial) and trilled. The trilled song is also given on the ground in aggressive interactions (Byrkjedal and Thompson).
Trilled song of a Black-bellied Plover (migrant, Aug, NJ).
time scale reduced







another trill (with Black Skimmer, May, NJ)











Semipalmated Plover interaction calls (May, NJ).










A flock at Heislerville, NJ in May.




Killdeer alarm call (May, NJ).












With further distress, the call becomes a deer-di-di-di (with Red-winged Blackbird whistling, May, NJ).











Three birds involved in chasing and fighting interactions (Northern Mockingbird singing, Apr, PA).






Wilson's Plover pip alarm/contact call (April, NC).

Reference: I Byrkjedal, DBA Thompson. Tundra Plovers. 1998. Princeton University Press.

Terns

All the following recordings are of birds in flight unless noted.

Forster's Tern kip (contact call) and keer ( the so-called advertising call,often given by birds carrying fish).
(feeding birds, Apr, NJ).

kip







keer












Forster's Tern "long" call, a series of keers that speed up (Jul, NJ)

(May, NJ).











Kip, kew and grating calls in flight(Jul, NJ)


grating
kew


Common Tern kip (Aug, MA).

kip










Kyeer advertising call (July, NJ)












Common Tern long call, a series of kyeers that speed up towards the end (Aug, MA).

part of long call








Kyeer calls with grating phrases (July, ME).



Nocturnal flight calls (May, PA).




Arctic Tern, a clear high kyeer (June, AK).












Arctic Tern three calls, a raspy krrr, a grating kip and short whistled keeks (June, AK).











Least Tern contact call (June, NJ).











Least Tern squeaky alarm calls(Aug, MA).












Least Tern alarm calls and attack call (Aug, MA).












Black Tern kip calls, foraging flock (May, ND).













Gull-billed Tern calls (May, NJ)

(July, NJ).












Gull-billed Tern calls are similar to those of the Black Skimmer. Black Skimmer in flight (May, NJ).


Black Skimmer flock, some in flight, most resting, with Black-bellied and Semi-palmated Plovers also calling (May, Heislerville, NJ).











The Caspian Tern call is a dry rasp, similar to that of snipe (Aug, PA).





Royal Tern call (with juvenile, Aug, NJ).


(Aug, NJ)


Calls by standing bird in courtship with another, possibly mating (May, VA)

Calls by flock on sandbar (Apr, NC).






Sandwich Tern, standing with Royal Terns (Apr, NC).