Boidnoise

Recorded on the morning of February 8, 2009 at Limantour Beach at Point Reyes National Seashore.  Two Ravens flew into a pine and I recorded their croaky calls from a distance.  When I heard the clucking calls I moved closer and recorded almost directly under the tree.  One of the birds was quietly preening as the other was vocalizing.  There must be some bill snapping associated with making the clucking noises, as little clicking sounds can also be heard.  White-crowned sparrows can be heard in the background along with the surf over the dunes behind me.

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Chipping sparrows migrate through the foothills on the way to higher elevations in the Sierra Nevada.  On the morning of April 17, 20007 I heard what I took to be an insect of some kind, but it turned out to be a sparrow perched on the top of a young oak tree with his head and wide open bill pointed at the sky broadcasting the following enthusiastically.

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What do I consider to be

Upper Bridgeport SP ??

The California towhee is a common bird in our area.  Most of the year one can hear it’s sharp “pink” call, but in the spring one can hear its song. Recorded at upper Bridgeport State Park in Nevada County, CA.

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Black phoebes are flycatchers that prefer the presence of water.  They will be seen perched either high or low, dart out after an insect, and often return to the same perch.  With their toxedo clad appearance they are easy to recognize and their high pitched “ptee” call is hard to miss.  Note that this bird alternated each call ending with first an upslur and the next call with a downslur.  April 17, 2007

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Early in the morning on April 17, 2007 at the upper part of Bridgeport State Park in Nevada County, CA I heard the irritated stuttering call of a Bullock’s oriole.  It was sitting near the top of an oak tree and I got this recording of it.  The call one will hear or become aware of most often is at 22 seconds.

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Most of us have heard the “Chicago” call of the california quail perched on the top of a fencepost or bush.  You may have wandered through oak scrubland that has thick cover either as bushes or blackberry thickets and heard mysterious liquid, clicking “putting” noises and been mystified.  These are also vocalizations of the California quail.  I was able to record an extensive quail session in one of these thickets at the upper part of Bridgeport SP in Nevada County, CA on the morning of April 17, 2007.

In the background one can hear in the order of appearance: mourning dove, wrentit, western kingbird, Bullock’s oriole, golden-crowned sparrow, and lesser goldfinch

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Acorn woodpeckers are common and sociable oak woodland birds in the Sierra foothills.  They are easily recognized by their clown-like faces and raucus calls.  In your wanderings you may have seen dead trees covered with holes that contain acorns.  These are called larder trees, and are the acorn woodpecker’s granary.  A breeding group of numerous individuals will cooperate in it’s creation and defense.

This bird was recorded at the upper part of Bridgeport State Park along the Yuba River in Nevada County on April 17, 2007.  What you hear is the typical short, gutteral call.  Also present is the call of a  Bewick’s wren (Thryomanes bewickii).

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This owl woke me on the evening of January 8, 2009.  It was calling loudly, and I had never heard a 6 note call from a great-horned owl before, only 4 note and 5 note.  I hurried, threw on a coat, and went on the deck with my recording gear and was able to get a series of calls before the owl quit or moved on.  The recording was made at my home on Banner Mountain, near Nevada City, CA.

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While visiting a friend in Seattle this January I decided to see if I could find some trumpeter swans which I heard wintered in the Skagit Valley north of Seattle.  A quick computer search yielded this website and all the information I needed to start looking.  After much waiting and finger crossing at the

observation area at the end of De Bay Isle Road, east of Mt. Vernon, a pair of swans flew over and their calls, heard by me for the first time, were unmistakable and thrilling.  What an aptly named bird. I was not able to record this flyover and decided to explore the area to see if I could find an area where there were swans that were more accessible. Not far from this site Highway 9 crosses the Skagit River, and in a big field just on the north-west side of the river, a large group of trumpeter swans were grazing on fresh greenery. They were too far away to record and the highway is very busy with noisy truck traffic. Groups of swans were flying into the field and bugling, but the highway noise was so loud it was nothing but frustration. I decided to return early the next morning and get as far away from the road as I could and try again.
The next morning I stopped at the De Bay Isle Road observation area and waited for the sun to come up. The temp was in the high twenties and I was glad to see it.  After light hunters started to blast away in the distance and not long after trumpeter swans came over flying into the direction of Highway 9. While monitoring the recording I was struck by an odd ratcheting noise that coincided with the swan’s wingbeats, about 3.5-4 beats per second. I’m not sure what causes this noise, but I suspect it has something to do with the movement of their primaries as they beat their wings. This “ratcheting” could be heard from all flying swans that I observed.

The following is a fly-over of two groups of swans. The “ratcheting” noise can be heard, as well as traffic noise and a chattering belted kingfisher at the end.

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A fly-over demonstrating the wing sound only.  This recording is a bit noisy.

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Another fly-over, but more traffic noise.

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Along one edge of the field was a tree farm and I used it as cover to try to get closer to the group of swans that were grazing in the field and away from the traffic. As I carefully advanced I came upon a group of 12 swans that were swimming and bathing in a water filled depression that had been invisible. The birds were alert and aware of my presence but not alarmed. This was a good opportunity to record them while at rest.

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I continued recording these twelve birds until a portion of them decided to join the group that was grazing further in the field.  A train can be heard off and on at the  beginning and takeoff is at approximately 3 minutes

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Today, November 10, 2008, I was trying to find and record white-headed woodpeckers along the CYA Road, above Nevada City, CA.  While I was recording a white-headed woodpecker tapping along the bark of a living incense cedar sapling, two common ravens flew by just over the edge towards the Yuba River Canyon.  Their wings can be heard on this 7 second snippet.  Again, listening with earphones results in more detail.

SD-722 Telinga dish, twin science microphone

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