Backyard Birdwatch: An Intro to My Chatter Tracking

Time: 6:35-6:55 a.m.

Weather Report: Partly Cloudy, 87°F, 63% Humidity, Winds: WSW @ 12 mph; feels like 94°F.

Location: The backyard of my home in the upstate New York City of Rochester. (See map at the bottom of the left column for spacial reference.)

Bird Species/Markings/Features:--American Song Sparrow (I think)

Sights/Sounds/Activities:Very quiet this morning, save the sound of the nearby expressway traffic trapped under the partly cloudy skies. There was a little bit of aviary chatter.

I figured that if I could focus in on a specific "song" or "sound" I could write down what it sounded like and compare it to some bird song recordings.

One particular song, eminating from a cluster of trees in my nieghbor's backyard (which is now conceptually part of our larger combined yard, since I recently removed the fence seperating the two), went something like this: "Twee-twee-twee..." (a repetitive chirp, in quick bursts).

Notes: After being unable to visually "find" any birds to watch, I remembered that Anne and I had recently purchased a copy of Birds of New York Audio CD Booklet by Stan Tekiela, which I had yet to open and listen, too. Today, I did just that.

According to Mr. Tekiela's audio commentary, the American Song Sparrow:

has a varied song... but the basic structure is same... a clear whistle of two to three intro notes followed by rapid jumble of note and shirlls.

I clearly heard the intro but failed to hear the rapid jumble following. I listened to a number of different songs from birds we have sighted in the yard (Robin, Purple Finch, House Sparrow, Raven) and the song for the Song Sparrow came closest.