Songbirding

The Pacific Wren is a tiny-yet-loud brown bird that can be found all year round in much of its West Coast range, though some of the more northern deeper interior populations in Canada make a short migration sound. Their songs are a loud and tumbling cascade of bright musical phrases, lasting anywhere from 5 to 10 seconds on average, and sometimes even longer. The species has a couple very similar...

The morning is beginning to draw to a close and I am wrapping up my first exploration of the Sibbald Meadows Pond. Things may be a bit quieter but that does allow for me to focus more on the sounds of individual birds. Credits Songbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production. Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler)...

The Common Yellowthroat is a loud and lively warbler found along the edges of marshes and wetlands. It is one of the few warblers found nearly everywhere across North America every summer. Males are known for their broad black masks, and unmistakable "witchety-witchety-witchety" song. In this episiode, we continue our hike around Sibbald Meadows Pond. Credits Songbirding: Kananaskis Country is a S...

It’s a sunny mid-July morning and I’m continuing my exporation of the Sibbald Meadows Pond: a secluded wetland surrounded in all directions by mountains, and abundant with bird song. Credits Songbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production. Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylo...

The Lincoln’s Sparrow is a very secretive songbird that looks almost like it’s got a tailored plumage: complete with the stripes, spots, and the streaks of typical brownish North American sparrow.  Most notably its chest is buffy coloured and has visible fine streaks. The song of the Lincoln’s Sparrow is a song of jumbled notes, and to me is reminiscent of an abbreivated House Wren song. This spec...

In Alberta, many road and highways are actually called trails. One such trail I’ll be exploring at lot is the Sibbald Creek Trail, a very wide, winding gravel road that passes through a diversity of mountain habitats. One of those habitats is the Sibbald Meadows Pond, a popular fishing spot surrounded on all sides by mountains, which also happens to be a fantastic birding location. For the next fe...

About an hour’s drive west of Calgary, Alberta in the foothills and front ranges of the Canadian Rocky Mountains is an area known as Kananaskis Country. Within this nearly 1 million acres of land are towering mountains, alpine meadows, glaciers, forests, lakes, wetlands, grasslands, and thickets. Over 130 species of birds nest in Kananaskis Country, including many songbirds. I’ve felt a draw to re...

The Eastern Warbling-Vireo is greyish olive bird that can be found in deciduous trees in open areas in the central and northeastern United States, and in the prairies and southern parts of Ontario and Québec in Canada. Its name is quite descriptive of its song — a rapid and almost frantic warbling song that is loud enough that you are more likely to hear this bird than see it. In 2025 this species...

The Common Grackle is a blackbird with bright yellow eyes and a glossy-irridescent plumage. Their vocalizations are a mix of croaks, creaks, squeaks, and whistles. Common Grackles are typically found in most of Canada and the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, and are present year-round in the south-eastern half of that range. For this Species in Focus episode I’ll be sharing a spring walk...

Here in the wilderness of the Canadian Rockies, the birds are our hosts. We are their guests. Premieres March 2, 2026. Credits Songbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production. Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/ Creative Commons music is PlainGrey by Bl...

The Christmas Bird Count is a census of birds in the western hemisphere that is held between December 14 and January 5 each winter. It was devised originally as an alternative to the 19th century tradition of hunting birds at Christmas, and has evolved to become the longest running citizen science project. There are tens of thousands of participants - seeking out and counting tens of millions of b...

The Christmas Bird Count is a census of birds in the western hemisphere that is held between December 14 and January 5 each winter. It was devised originally as an alternative to the 19th century tradition of hunting birds at Christmas, and has evolved to become the longest running citizen science project. There are tens of thousands of participants - seeking out and counting tens of millions of b...

The Northern Yellow Warbler is a bright and cheerful sounding songbird found during the breeding season all across North America. Males of the species are yellow with some red flecks along their chest, and are very songful. They have a number of different songs, but their most common one can be described as sounding like “sweet sweet, sweeter than sweet”. In 2025, this species was split from what...

Tonight, we take a walk after dark through a swamp full of katydids, crickets, grasshoppers, and maybe an owl... Credits Songbirding: Species in Focus is a Songbirding Studios production. Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnian Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062 Creative Commons music is from...

The Sedge Wren is a small, russet coloured energetic songbird found breeding in fields and shallow marshes in many parts of inland North America. Their song consists of several dry-sounding chirps followed by a short trill. Unlike other wren species they tend to be more shy, and without their loud song, can easily go unnoticed. This episode we will be exploring Taquanyah Conservation Area near Cay...

The Marsh Wren is a small, brownish, energetic songbird found in wetlands across a large swath of North America. Their song is a mix of harsh trills, gurgles, and buzzes. And, like most wren species, are much louder than their small size might suggest. This episode we will be exploring Taquanyah Conservation Area near Cayuga Ontario, first on two dates in 2024, then in the conclusion you’ll hear a...

In the upcoming special episodes I’m going to feature songbird species who fit three criteria: that I have plenty of recordings of them, that I have not significantly featured them before, and that they are not likely to be featured in the next season of Songbirding because they do no occur in the west, or have not shown up significantly in my western recordings as of right now. The Orchard Oriole...

We conclude with the finale hike of the season, listening to Swainson's Thrushes, and more. Credits Songbirding: The Allegheny National Forest is a Songbirding Studios production. Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnian Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062 Creative Commons music is from Josh Woo...

On the last hike of the season, we return to Deer Lick Run for an evening birding hike. Credits Songbirding: The Allegheny National Forest is a Songbirding Studios production. Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnian Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062 Creative Commons music is from Josh Woodwar...

Deep in Allegheny National Forest is the ghost town of Owl's Nest. While there were no owls to be found, there were a few songbirds to be heard, including a very cooperative Chestnut-sided Warbler. Credits Songbirding: The Allegheny National Forest is a Songbirding Studios production. Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnian Warbler) is by L...

I've joined the Pennsylvania Bird Atlas, which gives me a good reason to just explore some of the forest access roads to collect more observations. Since the roads are so quiet and without traffic, they're great for birding, and listening for bird songs. Credits Songbirding: The Allegheny National Forest is a Songbirding Studios production. Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter....

As we return to the access road, a family of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers is encountered, and some Black-throated Green Warblers and Ovenbirds are heard. Credits Songbirding: The Allegheny National Forest is a Songbirding Studios production. Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnian Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.c...

Deep in the Allegheny National Forest is a trail leading down to Logan Falls. Along the trail we'll be hearing Black-throated Green Warblers, Ovenbirds, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, and more. Credits Songbirding: The Allegheny National Forest is a Songbirding Studios production. Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnian Warbler) is by Lauren He...

This will be my final day of recording for this season of Songbirding, which will be a whirlwind tour of several remote areas of Allegheny National Forest. But first, I’m hiking up Deer Lick Run one last time to retrieve my recorders, which captured this abundant dawn chorus. Credits Songbirding: The Allegheny National Forest is a Songbirding Studios production. Recorded, engineered, narrated and...

The Barred Owl is one of the larger owls, and has a brown mottled plumage, and big black beady eyes. They are typically found in mature forests near water, and swamps. Their hooting “Who cook’s for you” song can make these owls incredibly easy to find -- by ear at least. Credits Songbirding: The Allegheny National Forest is a Songbirding Studios production. Recorded, engineered, narrated and creat...