Recording birds

Thank you for the item on birdsong in the May issue. I have wanted to record birds since my teenage years (I am now in my early 60s) but, for various reasons, didn’t manage to get started until about six years ago. My early inspiration was an LP of birdsong by Ludwig Koch, an early hero of mine. More recently, I wanted to improve my ability to recognise birds by songs and calls. Though I don’t think it is necessary to record birds to do this, I found that doing so focused my ear and I can now recognise quite a few common birds by sound (and a few rarer ones, too).

If I record a bird I couldn’t see and don’t know the species, there is usually someone more knowledgeable on Xeno-canto able to identify it for me.

By doing this, I can now often recognise birds by sound, whether in a woodland or, as Imbar Golt suggested, when driving along with the windows open.

I still have a way to go – Adrian Thomas explained two pairs I still struggle with: Blackcap/garden Warbler and Reed Warbler/sedge Warbler. The section dealing with sonograms was also very interesting. Knowing at least some songs and calls has brought a new interest and, dare I say, joy to my birdwatching. I remember the first time I heard a Reed Warbler (didn’t know that’s what it was at the time) and I laughed as it was so mad and eccentric.

Of course, I love the song of the Nightingale, which I have heard and recorded on several occasions, but one of my favourite songs has to be that of the Goldfinch, which I have yet to get a good recording of.

After saying that, I enjoy listening to the sounds of any birds, including those made by Magpies and other corvids, and would recommend taking the time to learn as many as possible, as advocated in the May issue. David Bissett