My favorite wren is without doubt the Winter Wren. It’s rambling, silvery song delights the ear and is quite unlike the song of any other wren. Yesterday, when I recorded the Wood Thrush in Shindagin Hollow with Beth Bannister, we reminisced about our experience ten years prior recording a Winter Wren, also in early May and almost at the same location …
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Yesterday I rose early to hear the fluting of a Wood Thrush, but didn’t hear a peep. This morning, as if by magic, the songs of thrushes rained down upon the forest floor, glittering like stardust sprinkled upon the greening landscape. How enchanting and reassuring … the Wood Thrushes have once again returned!
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Although it rained all night, I rose early and drove through light fog to a forested area in hopes of hearing my first Wood Thrush of the year. No luck! In fact, there was next-to-nothing going on, except for the drip from trees and misty rain. I was disappointed, but decided to take a brief walk in the woods. And that is when the magic happened …
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This morning was cloudy but calm, so I went to nearby Shindagin Hollow to see if there were any new arrivals (or local species) sounding off … and sure enough there were: Black-throated Green Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Winter Wren, Ovenbird, Blue Jay … and more!
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This morning, I rose at 4:30am and headed for Finger Lakes National Forest, arriving at about 5:15am. Birds were already singing and soon I stumbled upon something special: a migrating flock of White-throated Sparrows, awakening to the day in a thicket at the edge of the woods …
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Just as I was ending my field work on Sunday morning, a Brown Thrasher began singing from a patch of shrubs next to the road. I spent the next twenty minutes chasing after him as he flew from perch to perch. Finally, he settled in a tall hickory tree and put on quite a vocal performance …
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Several days ago, I paid a morning visit to my friend and fellow recordist Bob McGuire (we’ve done a number of trips together). Bob’s yard is full of House Finches and Common Grackles, attracted to the abundant evergreens surrounding his home. Luckily, it was a blue-sky day, so I managed to get some usable video footage of both species, with pretty decent sound …
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Enjoy this gentle recording of a gurgling brook with subtle bird songs in the background, recorded by yours truly in deep forest among the rolling hills near Ithaca, New York.
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Nearly every day yields something valuable, but only if I get myself out there and immerse myself in the glory of the wilds. I never know what I’m going to find, even when I have a goal in mind. And more often than not, my ultimate “catch” is not at all what I had expected …
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This morning’s video catch: A Red-bellied Woodpecker giving its vibrant querrr calls, along with tapping at a potential nest site. I was very lucky to get this footage, after a frustrating morning trying to locate a Ruffed Grouse drumming log, with no success …
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O frabjous day! The Brown Thrashers have arrived, nearly ten days earlier than last year. What a joyful surprise on this calm and sunny morning in upstate New York. A truly welcome sign that spring is blossoming according to plan, and that Old Man Winter has lost his grip and is quickly fading away …
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Spring came and then left, or so it seemed. Last weekend the temperatures dropped into the high teens and on Saturday we had snow flurries all morning. Thinking it might be our last snowfall of the season, I braved the cold and attempted to get some video footage of birds at the nearby Cornell Plantations Arboretum … I’m surprised at how fruitful my adventure was!
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