Heather,
I often, but not always, rely on voice only for IDs. It depends on my
confidence in IDing a given species by voice only. For example (off the top
of my head/birds I've IDd by voice in the past couple weeks), I am very
confident IDing the songs and/or calls of a Hermit Thrush, Western (fka
Pacific-slope) Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, Song Sparrow, Black-headed
Grosbeak, Spotted Towhee, Western Wood Pewee, Sora, White-crowned Sparrow,
Olive-sided Flycatcher, Kildeer, Wilson's Snipe, Belted Kingfisher, Yellow
Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Lazuli Bunting, Warbling Vireo, Cassin's Vireo
and many more. OTOH, I have difficulty distinguishing voicings of some
species, e.g., Purple Finch vs. Cassin's Finch, thus I need to confirm
those by sight. And sometimes I hear a song or call that makes me shrug my
shoulders.
IME, it helps to have more than one set of trained ears. Also, there are
different dialects, e.g., Spotted Towhees have a different set of calls E
of the Cascade crest, and that can result in confusion when birding in
unfamiliar territory.
Birding by ear has tracked on a lifelong learning curve for me.
Final thought: The Merlin app is a great learning tool, but it *only
provides suggestions and sometimes is incorrect*. My Merlin app has
erroneously IDd a Yellow-breasted Chat as a Northern Mockingbird or a
Dickcissel, it often mixes a PUFI for a CAFI and vice versa, etc., etc.
Happy birding by voice,
Steve Loitz
Ellensburg WA
On Fri, Jun 28, 2024 at 8:10 AM Heather Gervais via Tweeters <
tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:
>
Question for the birding by ear folks that post their sightings to eBird:
>
do you go by ear in making your counts? I'm really enjoying improving my
>
ear skills, but couldn't imagine being able to determine the number of
>
individuals by ear alone. Especially as in learning that in many species,
>
only the males sing.
>
>
Peace,
>
Heather
>
>
Heather Gervais
>
Certified Personal Trainer
>
Fitness Instructor
>
Spanish Interpreter
>
Good person
>
>
"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
>
- Mahatma Gandhi
>
>
Message sent from my iPhone. Please excuse its brevity and occasional
>
typos.
>
>
>
On Jun 28, 2024, at 7:48 AM, Michael Fleming via Tweeters <
>
tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:
>
>
>
Hello;
>
>
Rob is definitely spot on regarding this. Birding by ear is a big
>
advantage, it just takes a little time and practice to get there. If you
>
have a particular spot you like to bird (mine was Discovery Park) and learn
>
the birds and calls of that area you will find that this will translate
>
into recognizing these birds in other areas you visit. This was stressed
>
in the Master Birder Program that I participated in, and I relied a lot on
>
it when I was leading birding trips for Discovery Park and WOS.
>
>
Cheers and Good Birding;
>
>
Michael Fleming
>
Ballard, Washington
>
MichaelFleming0607 AT gmail.com
>
>
>
>
On Fri, Jun 28, 2024 at 6:10 AM Rob Faucett via Tweeters <
>
tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:
>
>>
Hi Jim - short answer is "birding by ear."
>>
>>
There will be many more reply and I'll get to something longer. But that
>>
is really good, and fun!!, place to start.
>>
>>
Happy to help further. Call any time!
>>
>>
Rob
>>
>>
-;
>>
Rob Faucett
>>
+1(206) 619-5569
>>
robfaucett at mac.com
>>
Seattle, WA 98105
>>
>>
> On Jun 28, 2024, at 5:54 AM, Jim Betz via Tweeters <
>>
tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:
>>
>
>>
> Hi all,
>>
>
>>
>
>>
> I need some help. I often use eBird to look up "where are people
>>
finding birds" by
>>
>
>>
> checking recent checklists. This usually helps me to pick a place in
>>
Skagit County
>>
>
>>
> where we live because I can see 'what's happening' quickly.
>>
>
>>
> However, what I've noticed is that there are lots of birders who are
>>
posting
>>
>
>>
> checklists with 2x 3x, and even more as many birds as I'm finding when I
>>
>
>>
> go to the same place at the same time of day.
>>
>
>>
>
>>
> ===> So my question is 'what are they doing that I'm not'?
>>
>
>>
>
>>
> Here is what I am doing. I walk and stop about every 30 feet or less
>>
- and listen
>>
>
>>
> first and then try to spot the more nearby birds I'm hearing. When I
>>
get a visual I
>>
>
>>
> will try to identify that bird. I -often- hear birds that I can't id
>>
from the song/call.
>>
>
>>
> I'm fairly new to birding - started about 5 years ago. When I am on
>>
guided tours
>>
>
>>
> the guide -always- is way ahead of me. My primary focus is getting
>>
pictures and I
>>
>
>>
> rarely carry anything other than my camera with long lens - but when my
>>
wife is
>>
>
>>
> with me she has her bins and that helps (some). At least 9 out of 10
>>
times I go
>>
>
>>
> out I'm by myself rather than with a partner or group.
>>
>
>>
> - Jim
>>
>
>>
> _______________________________________________
>>
> Tweeters mailing list
>>
> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
>>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
>>
_______________________________________________
>>
Tweeters mailing list
>>
Tweeters at u.washington.edu
>>
http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
>>
>
>
>
>
>
_______________________________________________
>
Tweeters mailing list
>
Tweeters at u.washington.edu
>
http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
>
>
_______________________________________________
>
Tweeters mailing list
>
Tweeters at u.washington.edu
>
http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
>
--
Steve Loitz
Ellensburg, WA
steveloitz at gmail.com