Songbirding

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...

Continuing through the Bruce Peninsula National Park in an old hunt camp section, many Black-and-white Warblers are encountered. 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...

It's mid-May and I've returned to Johnston Harbour, at the old hunting camp. For the next 4 episodes we'll be exploring this peaceful natural space, listening for warblers, thrushes, and many more songbird species. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnian Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.c...

It's May of 2022 and I'm back in Johnston Harbour, but I’ve arrived a bit late to record birds during the day, making this the perfect opportunity to focus on recording birds of the night. 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 Creati...

It’s late August of 2021 and I’ve returned to Johnston Harbour to explore a bit more. This time of year will be much quieter, as the birds are focused on moulting their feathers, and migrating south. 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/534...

Each year I attempt to put together a new episode for the Halloween season, but as you might be aware, finding owls is in itself a time consuming effort, let alone recording sounds of them. While I didn’t succeed in capturing much this year, I did think of what I think should be a fun fill-in. This episode will be entirely soundscapes of birds, insects, frogs, and coyotes singing in the night. It...

This is the notes and sound keys for the Nocturnal Nature soundscape special episode.

It’s the last evening before I head back home, and I won’t be back again until late August. After this evening with the Brown Creepers, I’ll have another hike in the morning at a new location, as I’ve noticed there was a trailhead I had missed on the main road I’d like to scout out for next year’s return trip. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The So...

It’s the last night before I leave, and I’m hiking along Scuggog Lake near Johnston Harbour to retrieve my bioacoustic recorders. I’ve come across a flock of cackling Red-breasted Mergansers, but at the time I wasn’t sure of the identity of the species by the sound alone. Credits Songbirding was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. The Songbirding cover art (Blackburnian Warbl...

I’ve reached about as far as I’d like to travel today at Pine Tree Point, so I’m stopping and listening to Swainson’s Thrushes, Myrtle Warblers, and other songs around me, before turning around and returning to the trailhead. Credits This episode was sponsored by "Ontario Wildlife Photography", by Noah Cole, which can be found at Indigo-Chapters, Amazon and retail to brick and mortar bookstores in...

I’m continuing my hike along the main trail in the north section of Pine Tree Point, and retrieving some of my bioacoustic equipment along the way. The weather remains calm, warn and sunny, making it a great opportunity to record singing warblers. Credits This episode was sponsored by "Ontario Wildlife Photography", by Noah Cole, which can be found at Indigo-Chapters, Amazon and retail to brick an...

It’s a warm afternoon in early summer, and I’ve returned to the north end of the Pine Tree Point reserve. My plan is to hike in as far as I feel comfortable with, to get to know what habitats can be found along the main trail. Credits This episode was sponsored by "Ontario Wildlife Photography", by Noah Cole, which can be found at Indigo-Chapters, Amazon and retail to brick and mortar bookstores i...

In this season of Songbirding, we’ve heard a number of species, some multiple times. Long ago I did some end-of-season birdsong identification quizzes, and I wanted to do that again, but in a smaller scale. In this episode you’ll hear a few minutes recordings of a prominent species — sometimes two — followed by an identification of the species, before the next recording plays. These are all specie...

On the return hike, we encounter both Winter Wren and Nashville Warblers. Youtube Video of the Nashville Warbler: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIOct1CSwbk 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 was provided b...