Songbirding

It’s early morning on the 19th of May 2023, and while the dawn has brought some songs, it’s a relatively quiet day… so far. But as we follow the Crane River to Scuggog Lake, migrant songbirds begin arriving.. continuously, for hours. In these final episodes of this season of Songbirding, I aim to document the spectacle of this songful migration event. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered,...

It's mid-May of 2023, and I've returned to Johnston Harbour once again. It's even quieter than I expected, though.. at least, for now. Credits Songbirding was 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 by REW<<. This podcast is power...

It’s my last day at Johnston Harbour for 2022, and I’m doing an early morning hike - despite some overcast weather, the songs are both abundant and diverse. Credits Songbirding was 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 by REW<<....

In this final part of this hike, I’m returning back to the trailhead at Pine Tree Harbour. One might assume that it means we’ll hear the same things, but a Wood Thrush is showing me that there’s still new songs to hear along this trail. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnian Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tin...

I’m continuing to explore the trails that extend from the Kinglet Junction, to see what new habitats I might find. We’ll be hearing from American Redstarts, Nashville Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and more. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnian Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/p...

I’m continuing my hike from Pine Tree Harbour towards the crossroads of trails I’m calling Kinglet Junction. A couple days ago I encountered both species of kinglet, and I hoping that can happen once again, as my experience with kinglets in their breeding territories is quite sparse. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackb...

The first part of a morning hike into the southern half of Pine Tree Point Nature Preserve, opening with a songful White-throated Sparrow. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnian Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062 This podcast is powered by Pinecast . Try Pinecast for f...

I’m continuing my hike through Henhoeffer Park’s East Trail, where a variety of eastern forest species such as Red-eyed Vireo, Ovenbird, and Pine Warbler have active territories. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnian Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062 This podcast is...

I return to Henhoeffer Park, except this time taking the east trail, about 1km away from the previous recording location. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnian Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062 This podcast is powered by Pinecast . Try Pinecast for free, forever, no...

During my time in Johnston Harbour and Pine Tree Point, I occaisionally will hear a kinglet sing. But so far I will either only hear the bird briefly, or at a distance. That’s about to change though. I’m continuing the hike along the trail north of Pine Tree Harbour, about to come across a cedar swamp with a very different mix of bird species than I’ve been finding around this area. Credits Songbi...

Now that I know how to enter the south side of the Pine Tree Point Nature Reserve, I’m making my way north from the cottage community of Pine Tree Habour. It’s afternoon so the songs won’t be as dense, but we’ll be hearing from White-throated Sparrows, Myrtle Warblers, and more. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnia...

We’re continuing along the road allowance that skirts the edge of the national park lands. Along the way we’ll hear some Black-and-white Warblers, Red-winged Blackbirds, Blue Jays, and more. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnian Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062 Crea...

Today I’m trying a new trail - an unopened road allowance that follows the edge of the park property. It starts as a road but quickly gets much more narrow, with small cedars and shrubs crowding the trail in. I know this heads to a wetland, so I’m hoping to come across some new songs on this warm June morning. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The So...

International Dawn Chorus Day is coming up on the May 7, 2023, and I thought I’d do a special episode for this. This time, rather than my own recordings, I’d like to share a number of recordings uploaded to freesound.org , a website dedicated to Creative Commons sound recordings. It has a number of high quality dawn chorus recordings available for free, and here’s just a few of them. Recordings us...

In the second half of this hike I’ll be seeing how far I can get down this trail in the time I have alotted for myself. Partly so I can see some new things, and partly because I do plan on hiking from the south side of this trail northwards soon, and would like to know if I could possibly cover the entire trail this year. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Po...

On these hikes I’m always surprised when I come back to the same trail, and find different things. Today is no exception. For the next couple episodes I’ll be hiking the north side of the Pine Tree Point trail, the last time I’ll be doing so in 2022. My goal is to retrieve a bioacoustic recorder I left here a month ago, and to hike as far south on this trail as I feel comfortable with doing so in...

I’m concluding my morning hike, and continuing to listen for more vocalizing songbird species. The day may have started out quiet, but the vireos and various warblers are about to get very songful. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnian Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/53440...

It’s the next morning at the old hunt camp and I’m doing a short walk to see if I can find any new species this time around. It’s overcast, so the morning chorus is less enthusiastic as usual, but there are still quite a few songs to be heard. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnian Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: http...

It’s mid-June of 2022, almost a year since I first started recording in this part of the Bruce Peninsula National Park. I’m back at the old hunt camp on a quiet evening, retrieving bioacoustic recorders, and listening carefully at the last songs of the day. The last songs of the day are amongst the softest and quietest one will hear, almost as if the birds are themselves are softly lulling those a...

So far in this season of Songbirding, we’ve heard quite a few species, some of them many times. In this episode you’ll hear recordings of one or two songbird species, followed by an identification of the species, before the next recording plays. These are all species that have been heard since the previous quiz episode. I hope that this can help you learn a new song or two. At the end, I’ll share...

It’s the last day for my short May excursion here, and it’s a windy day — not ideal for recording — but if one goes deep enough into the forest, the trees can keep the wind at bay. We’ll be listening to Black-throated Green Warblers, American Redstart, Ovenbird, and more. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnian Warbl...

While the afternoon isn’t usually the peak of songbird activity, if a morning is rainy, foggy or in other ways unpleasant, a clear and sunny afternoon can be quite songful, especially during the early part of the breeding season. Today we’ll be listening to Song Sparrows, Black-and-white Warblers, Grey Catbird, and more. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Por...

It’s early morning and I’m hiking along Scugog Lake near Johnston Harbour, looking for appropriate locations to leave bioacoustic recorders. Many warblers and other songbird species have arrived overnight, making for a very lively soundscape. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnian Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https...

In this last part of my May Morning hike, we’ll encounter a variety of songs: Common Yellowthroats, Ovenbirds, Blue Jays and more. Credits Songbirding was 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 by REW<<. You can support the show...

In this third part of my May Morning hike, we’ll be focused on a Hermit Thrush and a Myrtle Warbler. Credits Songbirding was 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 by REW<<. This podcast is powered by Pinecast . Try Pinecast for...