![]() If they find something that causes displeasure, like a cat, raccoon or undesirable person, a wren might release a salvo of loudly grating jeer-jeer notes that can practically be heard over a gas-powered leaf blower.Ī favorite is what I term the “rattlesnake call.” Issued when the wren is confronted by a threat or annoyance, it is often delivered from deep brush which conceals the scolder. Inveterate busybodies, the wrens investigate everything. In the Carolina wren’s case, some calls are nearly as conspicuous as its song. Mutant mold: 'Zombie fungus' lives among us and not just as HBO plot of 'The Last of Us' They serve many purposes, such as keeping mates apprised of the caller’s location, scolding would-be threats, alerting other birds to those threats and notifying mates of food sources. Songs serve to attract mates, establish territorial boundaries and alert rival males to the where territorial fences are.Ĭalls are typically much shorter, often quieter and less complex than songs. In the bird world, songs are generally sung by males (the cardinal is very much an exception) and they are normally longer, louder and more complex than calls. Both sexes produce an astonishingly varied set of calls, in addition to numerous variations of their song. That song isn’t the only tool in the wren’s vocal repertoire. If the songster delivered an early morning message from shrubs under your window, he’d awaken you. The song is a loud, clear-whistled teakettle-teakettle-teakettle which can’t be missed. For a bird that measures only 5½ inches and weighs three-quarters of an ounce, the little skulker has a set of pipes that would put Pavarotti to shame. The male who has laid claim to my yard is busy making himself known to all of late. Of the early bird singers, perhaps the most conspicuous is the Carolina wren. As spring picks up steam, the cast of feathered musicians will diversify, and the soundscape will richen. White-breasted nuthatches pipe in with a series of stridently nasal yank-yank-yanks. So are comparatively elfin Carolina chickadees, their song a clear sing-song four-parted whistle. Songbirds: Distinctive singers, a variety of tiny wrens found in Ohio boast bold voicesĪmerican robins, our boldest and most robust thrush, are already adding their loud caroling to the chorus. Sometimes a pair will duet back and forth. The more somberly toned females sing as well as the gaudy males. It’s worth trying to track down the singer. ![]() Northern cardinals – our state bird – sing sweet whistles sure to charm a mate. The little striped sparrows, habitués of yards and gardens as well as the wildest habitats, deliver beautifully complex arias ornate in structure. Well-named song sparrows contribute their ornate melodies, commencing in the re-dawn gloom. The dawn chorus is becoming ever more conspicuous. Ever-lengthening daylight hours trigger our earliest songbirds to clear those pipes and tune up for the breeding season. But the birds speak – literally – of spring. The world around us is singing, and summer is a great time to listen, and maybe learn a song or two.It is only early March, with Old Man Winter still looming large in the rearview mirror. The next time you step outside in the summer, tune into who else may be around you. ![]() When the weather first starts warming up in the springtime other frogs can be heard, such as the spring peeper, which has a call that sounds like the frog is calling its name “peep-er, peep-er, peep-er” in a high pitched song. Northern leopard frogs have a song that sounds like two balloons being rubbed together. Green frogs often sing on warm humid days in the summer, their songs sound like a loose banjo string being plucked. A different approach to learning the calls for these critters is to compare the sounds to common everyday objects. These animals have songs that are harder to remember with phrases like we use for bird songs. ![]() Frogs, toads, and insects also take advantage of the warm weather and are easily heard day and night across North Carolina. Birds aren’t the only animals making noise outside during the summer, however. ![]()
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