"if you are in a stand of pines and you hear 
a trill and say Pine Warbler, does it really matter if you are wrong?"

Jim,

I get your point here with the children, but I would think that it would be an 
indicator of potential ecological significance if Worm-eating Warblers started 
showing up en masse 3 weeks ahead of their normal schedule.  That's one of 
the reasons why a lot of folks spend so much time recording arrival and 
departure dates when they could otherwise be sleeping in.

Jay Keller
Arlington, VA




On Tue, 27 Mar 2007 09:57:40 -0400, JAMES WILSON 
<> wrote:

>"Love those trillers!"
>
>Yeah ... just try playing the four bird songs (Chipping, Swamp, Worm and
>Pine) to a bunch of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders and explain the differences and
>then watch their eyes glaze over ... and then get out in the field and most
>of them sound even more alike and then you appreciate those that have the
>skills to differentiate them all instantly.
>Habitat can help, but you know, if you are in a stand of pines and you hear
>a trill and say Pine Warbler, does it really matter if you are wrong? ...
>especially if you are in the 4th grade?  ;-)  You do the best you can and
>celebrate that they can put habitat and trill together!
>
>Jim Wilson
>Queenstown