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| Sabine and the psycho sedge warbler |
Sabine
guided us through the woods and we quickly got the hang of the chaffinch, a
downward warble with a bit of a churr at the end. Song thrushes were like opera
singers rehearsing their notes. Chiff chaffs were easy but dull whereas the
wren’s was a complicated song. The willow warbler was a bit like a chaffinch
without the churr and the garden warbler was a bit more ‘bubbly’.
Sabine’s
descriptions were great but it wasn’t always easy to pick out the described
call or song from the rich mix of other woodland birds. I think I got the
redstart and eventually I picked out the pied flycatcher though I’m not sure
how I’d describe it. Back by the cars we looked across the fields with their
reed filled drainage ditches listening to the aptly described manic song of the
‘psycho’ sedge warbler.
We said our thank
yous and goodbyes and drove out along the mile or so of new tarmac (not quite
sure why the council found this a priority). As I journeyed home I wondered how
many songs I’d remember and how on earth I was going to learn about all the
other birds.
But this was
my birthday and my clever wife had bought me a BirdVoice. A little microphone
type gadget on which you can play back either the calls or the songs of every
bird I could imagine. Just press the gadget onto the call or the song of any of
the 290 species of European bids contained in a laminated, pocket size field guide.
I can see this is going to be really useful and much moré than a gimmick. It
would have been handy for Sabine to use when trying to describe the calls.
There are
lots of features and functions I’ve not yet discovered but you can find out for
yourself by visiting the BirdVoice website.
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