Sunday 29 January 2012

Listening Closely

My walk along the canal on Friday was very noisy. Not from traffic or people but lots and lots of birdsong. I'm terrible at picking out which song is which bird. I know I heard blackbird and great tit but only because I saw them singing. I think I heard sparrows and a robin too, and there were many, many more.

It's great to hear so much birdsong and it's a good reminder that just because you don't see many birds doesn't mean they aren't there. I hope everyone's been doing the Big Garden Birdwatch, if you haven't yet you've still got time today! It's a pity you can't really count birds you hear (since you can't be sure they're in your garden).

While I was browsing the internet this week I stumbled upon several programmes giving a guide to farmland birdsong on  the Radio 4 archive. A little more searching found old series with a guide to garden birdsong and a guide to woodland birdsong. I also found a selection of birdsong clips which you can download as mp3s onto your phone of mp3player. These are a brilliant way of starting a birdsong education and I'm definitely going to try and learn a few more calls over the next few months.

You could even brighten up a boring commute by adding birdsong to your journey instead of listening to the car engine or other passengers on public transport. If you walk or cycle to work then make sure you listen out for birdsong on your journey. I know there are about three places on my cycle route which are hotspots for birdsong, even at 6:40am.

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