For WHO's birders

[Nurse Ratched]

"I thought you might like this video.



It's a compilation of different birds singing. Beautiful photography. If you expand the 'title' under the video it gives a list of species and the times they pop up in the video. Most of the species are familiar to us in the UK, but there are some 'exotics' (the cranes - wow, what a noise!) It was filmed in Belarus. The guy has a channel you can subscribe to. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and maybe it'll take your mind off you-know-what for a few blessed minutes."

[Crassus]

"Thank you Will give it a spin And rest assured, I have had my fill of exotic birds, those roosting in the house are giving me enough grief I'll let you know how I get on"

[Nurse Ratched]

"Basically it gives you 2 'readings' expressed as percentages. The first reading tells you what percentage of the signal (birdsong) it is analysing comes from a particular species. For example, at that time, a robin and a blue tit might both be singing, but 70% of the noise might be coming from the robin, and 30% from the bluetit (I am simplifying it here). The second reading tells you what percentage of a song closely matches a reference sample of that particular species song. So, it might display a robin, and record that 70% of the signal is coming from the robin, and the sing you are recording matches a reference/typical robin song by (e.g.) 80% or whatever. Obviously a match of, say, 14% to a reference song for any given species is dubious compared to 90%, for argument's sake. Which is why sometimes you have to take it with a large pinch of salt. It's still a lot of fun, though. Just don't get carried away if it tells you you've got something exotic in your area. Look at the percentages! At the moment I would guess the biggest barrier is a lack of reference data, considering even intraspecies birdsong has so many variants."

[only1billybonds]

Woke up to see a rather splendid looking Eurasian Jay (had to look it up) sitting on our fence this morning. It was a bit quiet but looked spectacular with its deep blue wings set against the rest of its brown colouring.

[Far Cough]

"Morpheus, are you sure they're not the Three Stooges?"

[Far Cough]

"Morpheus, are you sure they're not the Three Stooges?"

[Nurse Ratched]

"I'm on Android, but assume the situation is similar for Apple, if that's your thing. There are lots of apps on the Playstore for identifying birdsong. HOWEVER... 1) You need to make sure the one you're considering is for UK birds (many of them are for Yankees, and that's no good for us) 2) Most of them are not the type you record onto. I assume the type you want is where you point your phone's microphone in the vague direction of a singing bird and it tells you the species. You want a sort of 'Shazzam' for birdsong there aren't many of those. The only two I've found are called 'Warblr' (utterly useless. Wouldn't work) and 'Bird Up'. Bird Up is by no means perfect, but at least it tries, unlike Warblr. I think the tech is in its infancy, so in a few years time these apps may be fantastic, but at the moment it's a bit hit and miss."

[Morpheus]

"We have some unidentified birds that sound like the Laurel and Hardy theme, anyone know what they might be?"

[Crassus]

"Nurse What's this app Hun, I would love to get hold of that, would help my identification process enormously"

[Nurse Ratched]

"My birdsong ID app told me there was a bullfinch nearby this morning, but I'm taking that with a pinch of salt. I did hear a mistle thrush singing at 4:30am, though, and the app picked up on that. Weirdly, the app never seems to 'hear' or recognise wood pigeon song, even though I can hear them close by."

[Nurse Ratched]

"""...when my visitors arrive they are departing directionally, with purpose"" Indeed."

[Nurse Ratched]

Zeb - way-hay!

[zebthecat]

Nurse Ratched 7:01 Wed May 13 My Jackdaws are having a second go.

[Crassus]

"I note that when my visitors arrive they are departing directionally, with purpose, reckon they are feeding the nippers Previously they were flitting and generally playing about. I seem to have regular visitors, the woodpeckers and gold finches are on the missing list, come to think of it so are the wrens Sparrows a plenty mind and an assortment of tits and small brown bouncy things that I am yet to identify"

[Nurse Ratched]

"All go today. The woodpecker visits several times a day now, bless her. A variety of tits. Greenfinches and goldfinches. Sparrows and jays. Marvellous. But today was particularly fabulous because I saw a pair of robins copulating (repeatedly) and the courtship between them, such as the chap feeding his lady with the mealworms I put out. It's late in spring, so I assume either something unfortunate happened to their first clutch, so they're trying again, or they bred early in the spring, their chicks fledged, and now they're going at it again. It's nice to think that because spring seemed to come early and has been mild, loads of birds may manage to raise two clutches successfully."

[Hammer and Pickle]

Fieldfare seems to occupy the same niche as the Song Thrush and is much more common around here. Tends to fly low and fast between areas of cover.

[Tomshardware]

Yes I know Nurse I was only saying that because of the style of flying.

[Nurse Ratched]

Crassus' description sounds far too big for a wagtail.

[Crassus]

"Tom Yes so I gather, if they are Trees, I'll carry on checking mate, that fieldfare, could well have been, in truth from the web I could not differentiate what I saw from either the mistle or fieldfare and not seen it since Don't think it was a wagtail mind from my searches"

[Mr Kenzo]

"If I get hold of them them Pickle, I can send over a food parcel for you and your family if you want ?"

[Hammer and Pickle]

Move into a house with no wheels and a proper roof?

[Mr Kenzo]

"Without shooting the cunts, any ideas how to stop Pigeons from doing the riverdance on your roof at 4-6am every fucking morning. Thanks in advance"

[Tomshardware]

"You're lucky to see tree sparrows. As for that bird you saw, fieldfare? Nurse may be right though. The flight sounds like a bit like a wag tail though."

[Crassus]

"Nurse thank you, I never saw the chest but the back and profile looks spot on Would they take to a suspended feeder? If so I think you have it"

[Nurse Ratched]

Crassus - mistle thrush?

[Crassus]

"Tom I am pretty sure I have Trees in the garden, marginally bigger than the House and with a brown cap rather than the grey, acts like the House with feeding and general flitting about I'll keep observing, to fully confirm, but caution that I hold no 'birding' credentials You may be able to help me - I had a bird slightly larger than a starling, brown and fawn elements in body/wings, shaped akin to a blackbird, it was feeding upon a suspended feeder, shot off when I arrived but it's flight was the most notable aspect, it bobbed up and down over 20 yd peaks as it went across the field to a hedgerow, side on would appear like a heart machine screen - unlike any other flight from the usual attendees Fascinating thing this bird business, aside of the constant shit clearing, the little buggers are swarming now and emptying five feeders a day, would do more if I refilled twice daily and I am convinced that they are watching and waiting for me to fill, and when I do swoop down whilst I am close, as if they know I am no threat"