You might remember how the little front porch opens onto the big front hall, with the tall stairway and two stories of space acting as sounding board and echo chamber for anything on that porch.
And how certain birds have figured that out and like to sing in front of the screen door when we have the big doors open....a small bird can sound like a screaming eagle...or a smoke detector out there. Prolly really impresses the ladies and scares passing intruders.
Over the years it has been utilized by all manner of birds, from the Great Crested Flycatcher with his strident "Wheep!" to Carolina and House Wrens and many others.
Yesterday and today the singer has been an American Redstart. Before I learned to recognize their song I thought it was a big deal to find one. Now I realize that we are surrounded. We hear them everywhere we go, count them on nearly every summer list, and see them much more often now that we can hear them if that makes sense to you.
Their call is pretty noticeable to begin with, but amplified by that hallway....well, it'll wake you up all right. I keep going to the door to see if I can see the singer.
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8 comments:
Great photos! It's always fun to find another bird.
That is too funny. And if you're surrounded by redstarts, I probably am too, living in the same county, but I've never even heard of them before.
Linda, Thanks! I look...and listen....everywhere I go. Sometimes I get lucky
Monica, give them a listen here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Redstart/id
Then check out your yard and see...or hear...there are sure a lot of them around this year
Thanks for the link! I listened to all of them - fun that some are from the 1960s.
Monica, I just went and listened to them all too. LOL, that last one from the 60's is what I find most typical around here at least. Odd about the old bird lore. I read material and maps on eBird quite often and discovered that the most recent sighting of a Red-headed Woodpecker in Montgomery County was in 1988! Last time I saw one here myself was in the 70s.
its great fun listening to them, thank you so much
That's interesting about the Red-headed Woodpecker. It seems like I learn something every time I visit your blog. Also, it's getting me back to bird watching again, which I haven't done much of in many years.
Winfred, glad you enjoyed hearing them! I have something of a tin ear, but even so, learning a few bird song has made birding a lot more fun and a lot more productive. Some birds are hard to see, but easy to hear sometimes.
Monica, I was shocked. eBird is such a big site... I keep finding new things and am working hard to learn it all the time. I discovered a couple weeks ago that if you submit lists of what you see it will tell you what birds have been listed in your county that you haven't seen yet. That is how I found the woodpecker date. Glad you are birding again....gives me something to do wherever we go.
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