Bird Vocalization of the Month: Mid-March Medley
Bird song is often concentrated in the morning. My late ornithology teacher, Dr. Ned Johnson, taught us that one hypothesis as to why birds sing so much in the morning is that it’s useful to them to reaffirm their social status after the long lull of the night. Bird song can give other birds a clue as to how good a mate the singer is likely to be, or how strong a competitor.
These early morning “dawn choruses” change over the year, often increasing in intensity towards spring, as males use song to attract mates. The also change in composition, as wintering birds leave the Bay Area to migrate north, others arrive from the south, and still others remain.
To find out what the local dawn chorus sounds like at this time of year, I stepped out of the Academy early Wednesday morning, March 18, and recorded what I heard in Golden Gate Park. Recording was challenging over the loud hum of early morning traffic, and in-between frequent interruptions by buses and garbage trucks. My recordings are not very refined, but I hope they provide a glimpse as to what may be encountered in our urban environment, within the realistic context of urban noise. Here are some of the birds I heard:
 American Robin Turdus migratorius Photo credit: Eric Heupel |
American Robins (Turdus migratorius) were some of the earliest risers, announcing themselves with this call. They soon started to sing. Robin song is one of the most frequently asked about vocalizations, with people wondering what bird sings so beautifully early in the morning. They sang in increasing number, peaking around 7:00 am, creating this dreamy, echoey soundscape.
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I heard the occasional Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) song long before dawn. However, shortly after the robins began singing, Song Sparrows increased their song rate, allowing me to obtain a few recordings. A Song Sparrow will often sing a very similar song over and over for a length of time, and then make a modification and sing a new songtype for a while. Neighbors sound distinctly different from one another. Check out the variety from three individual birds: sparrow #1, sparrow #2, sparrow #3.
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 Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia Photo credit: Len Blumin |
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Song Sparrow song often includes a long, noisy, broadband note (one consisting of broad range of pitches all at once) somewhere in the middle of the song. This sound, and the general pattern of the song—a kind of jumble of various kinds of sounds at extreme pitches—reminds me a great deal of the sound of a fax modem (if any of you can recall what one sounds like)!
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I did not manage to record everything I heard, but here are a few more notable vocalizations. Chestnut-backed chickadees (Poecile rufescens) were also among the early risers. Shortly after, and still before light, I managed to catch this pair of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) flying overhead. I was confounded by one particular vocalization, which turned out to be one of a Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca).
 Townsend’s Warbler, Dendroica townsendi Photo credit: Greg7 |
I feel very lucky to have obtained a recording of one of my favorite spring songsters—the Townsend’s Warbler (Dendroica townsendi), which sings a thin, buzzy song. Townsend’s Warblers are beautiful, but often difficult to see, since they spend much of their time in the canopy of conifers. They sing with increasing frequency as spring progresses, but eventually leave to breed further north, in the Northwest, from Oregon, as far north as Alaska.
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Finally, just before 8:00 am, I was quite surprised to hear several Winter Wrens (Troglodytes troglodytes) singing to each other, by a gully near Fulton Street. Winter wrens are tiny, brown birds which seem to be constantly on the move around fallen logs on the banks of streams in wooded areas. They are very difficult to see. There is a good-sized population of wintering Winter Wrens in the Bay Area, and a smaller one of nesting Winter Wrens. I have no idea if the Winter Wrens I recorded were winterers, spring migrants, or if they’ll end up staying for the summer and breeding!
Your homework assignment:
- Familiarize yourself with the song of the American Robin, one of the most frequently asked about natural sounds.
- Listen to the recordings of the Song Sparrows, and see whether you can identify the broadband note in the middle of the song. Do you agree with me that the Song Sparrow sounds like a fax modem? What do you think it sounds like?
- Listen to the other recordings. Choose one you particularly like, and listen to it several times. When you’re walking about in the morning, or anytime during the day, and you hear a bird vocalization, ask yourself if it matches any of the ones you’ve learned.
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