Date: Fri, 2 May 2003 16:20:06 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Denise Ryan Subject: Re: Birding by Ear advice MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" I also like Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs and John Feith's Bird Song Ear Training Guide for the Midwest and Northeast States, which uses human phrases with the bird songs to help you remember the song. But, I've found that just listening to 30 - 45 seconds of each species bird song is not enough, so I've made tapes and repeat the same bird song over a few times. Of course, I gave those tapes away to a beginning birder this year, so I have to make myself a new tape now. If there are two or three songs that are similar and confuse me I'll tape them back to back and repeated, so I can compare and contrast their songs instead of relying on the order the music/CD publisher chose. For instance, you can put Scarlet Tanager back to back with American Robin for a comparison. -----Original Message----- From: John Meisel [mailto:JohnM@RHODESIDE-HARWELL.COM] Sent: Friday, May 02, 2003 3:42 PM To: MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Birding by Ear advice Hi Kerry, I think the Birding by Ear is a great way to start. That's how I began. I would suggest spending alot of time in the field during the winter and early spring learning all of the resident species, and then easing into the migrants. That way, you will know all of the regulars as a baseline, and you will be able to tell when a new bird comes along. This method also makes it less overwhelming to learn the songs. You sort of learn a little at a time. When I hear a song that I don't know, I also try to remember it, or even write it down phonetically, and then go home and listen to my Peterson's Eastern Birds CD to figure out which one it was. Then I go over it a few times. Each season you'll find that you have memorized a few more. Good luck, John Meisel Washington, D.C. -----Original Message----- From: Kerry Stone [mailto:KerryZelda@AOL.COM] Sent: Friday, May 02, 2003 3:37 PM To: MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM Subject: [MDOSPREY] Birding by Ear advice Hi there, Any insight on AviSys' Song Features? Additionally, any suggestions for learning bird song? I have Peterson's Birding By Ear but I wanted to see if anyone had any additional useful strategies? Kerry Stone Takoma Park, MD Mont. Cty. kerryzelda@aol.com ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================