Birding By Ear

Written by Andrea Wirth & Jeanne Tinsman, all photos by David Anderson @thewildsights

The group had plenty of opportunities to stop and listen, and to learn to distinguish one bird from another when multiple birds were singing or calling. (photo by D. Anderson)

On Sunday, May 9, Jeanne T. led a small group in learning about how to identify birds by sound (“birding by ear”) at Wetlands Park. This is the first trip like this RRAS has done in a while and it was a nice change to get out and test our listening skills in new ways. We began with an introduction to some birding by ear resources (provided below) and by sharing our own experiences listening to birdsong and calls. Jeanne shared the enchantment of listening to American Robins sing in the evening as a child. Nearly all the stories were of relatively common birds, bringing a new kind of joy and discovery to our birding experiences even when staying close to home.

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