Vicarious Trills
 |
| Tranquillity at the torre Marimon government agricultural research grounds, a summer stopover for migratory birds |
If you plan to do some birding by ear, it would be a very good idea to bring along – hire if you have to – an expert, preferably an ornithlogist, to lead the way. For a less than completely initiated birder, i.e. someone who hasn’t been at it for at least three years with a regularity, constancy and a passion bordering on the obsessive, trying to identify all but a very few birds from their songs or calls can be a an extremely frustrating experience indeed.
That was the main lesson for GOT birders during a mid-spring morning stroll down the fields and woods of Torre Marimon, a sprawling 115-hectare Catalonian government land employed in agricultural research and situated on the outskirts of the township of Caldes de Montbui.
Heading the group was Josep Ribas, ornithologist and author of an extensive research work on Valles Oriental (Eastern Valley) birds, without whose presence frustration would have been the order of the day, as it would have been almost impossible for the untrained ear to sort out the continuous symphony of avian sounds, songs and calls that rose from the fields, copses and woods.
 |
| Birders (from left) Lluis Gascon, Ferran Pascual, Josep Ribas, Irma Fuentes, Assumpta Bosch & Virginia Calvet at Torre Marimon |
The first song that greeted us as we hit the dirt road that cut through a barley field was a brief fluty warble that could have come from either a Nightingale, a Blackcap or a Robin hidden in a copse of Holm oaks and thicket nearby. This brought an immediate response from another part of the thicket, a sharp short whistle, which could equally well have come from either a Nightingale, a Blackcap or a Robin. It was difficult to tell. Josep Ribas to the rescue: the first was a Robin (Erithacus rubecula), and the second a Rufous Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), both passerines.
It was not an auspicious start to the day for the rest of us. Josep acknowledged however that a Robin’s song is often confused with that of a Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), and the Nightingale misleads the untrained ear if it did not explode with its full-throated rhapsody on cue as in the numerous recordings we have on CD and on the Internet.
The Robin and the Nightingale kept up their banter for a while, but it still required the instant identification skills of Josep (“that’s a Robin...that’s a Nightingale...the Robin...the Nightingale”) to help us sort them out.
A few strides on, and we were regaled with a rich burst of melodious chirps and twitters from the nearest bush. No doubt about it for most of us: that must be a Nightingale! Alas, no. It was that notorious sound-alike, the Cetti’s warbler (Cettia cetti), which the Spanish has aptly named Ruisoñor Bastardo (Bastard Nightingale) and the Catalonians, Rossinyol Bord, a small nondescript skulking bird virtually impossible to get even a glimpse of but which makes its presence felt everywhere with its call and song.
More walking; then, emanating somewhere from within an alfalfa (Medicago sativa) field, a loud “ko-oor-koc” call of some meadow bird. “A Red-legged Partridge!” someone yelled. “No,” came Josep’s rejoinder, “It’s a Common Pheasant,” demonstrating yet again the wide gap between being close and being right.
 |
| A Montagu's Harrier (left) and a Cuckoo provide visual relief to a morning heavy on the ears (Photo: Assumpta Bosch) |
Things began to look up a bit with the sighting of a Little Owl (Athene noctua) and a Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) atop a barn roof, though ascertaining their identity again called for the expertise of our guide. Our 8x40 pairs of binoculars and guidebooks were put to good use too. And then the “unmistakable” chirps of a sparrow, but even that had to be drawn to our attention. As we moved more into open countryside a familiar spring migrant, a Montagu's Harrier (Circus pygargu) flew low and gracefully into view, its powerful, elegant wingbeats gving a remarkable impression of buoyancy and ease as it swooped low searching for prey. Close by, high on an electricity cable, perched an unfazed male Common Cuckoo, a fellow-migrant, openly declaring its presence with its characteristic ‘goo-ko’ call.
By this time however the songs and calls from birds all hidden from view were coming in thick and fast. Without Josep’s keen ear, nurtured over 30 years of dedicated birdwatching and listening, we would have been at quite a loss. As he called them out one by one, we ticked off mentally the songs and sounds of Blackcaps, Sardinian warblers, Wrens, Crows, Magpies, Great Tits, Jays, Robins, Tree-creepers, Serins, Green Woodpeckers, Woodpigeons, Crested larks and even a Zitting Cisticola.
 |
Waiting for their next feed up a treetop perch - a Woodchat Shrike (left) and a Corn Bunting (photos:Aassumpta Bosch) Two Yellow Wagtails and a Corn Bunting (black arrow) : Photo: Assumpta Bosch |
Two Yellow Wagtails, a Corn Bunting (black arrow) and a couple of Tawny Pipits (white arrows): Photo: Assumpta Bosch
A relatively rare treat was in store for us as we cut across a field lying fallow - two male Yellow Wagtails feeding in the distance. No one except Josep had seen any before. An insectivores passerine, the breeding male is olive above and bright yellow below, and is the shortest tailed of the European wagtails. A mid-spring visitor, it spends most of its time walking or running on the ground and, as the name implies, wags its tail as it moves. Keeping the pair company was a Corn Bunting and a pair of Tawny pipits, barely discernible in the telephoto shot above. We 
didn’t venture too close. High in the sky above, a formidable predator, the Common Buzzard, circled in search of rabbits and small mammals, its favourite prey.
Slightly ahead, a Woodchat Shrike and a Corn Bunting obligingly allowed us to take a long good look at them as the perched on the highest branches of a couple of oak trees. Josep identified the Shrike; he should know – a pair of Woodchat Shrikes grace the front cover of his book (left), Els Ocells dels Valles Oriental (The Birds of the Eastern Valley), written in Catalan.
Our route finally took us into the woods of Torre Marimon, where, once again, Josep was in his element. The excitement he felt was manifest and rubbed off on us as he picked off one songbird after another without hesitation. We basked in his experience even as we came to the rueful conclusion that birding was one thing, but birding purely by ear was quite another. Here's what someone who must know how I feel has to say:
“Learning bird songs takes patience, perseverance, and persistence, along with a good ear, a good tutor, and a good deal of practice. The best method is to bravely venture out with a patient teacher who never tires of endlessly telling you, 'that's a Carolina Wren; that's a Carolina Wren, that's a Carolina Wren, that's a Carolina Wren.’ And just when you think it's safe, this same saintly person will devilishly throw out, ‘that's a Carolina Wren's aggressive chip note, but the one before that was its contact trill note’ so on and so on as the bird goes through its repertoire of 700 million noises.”
Quote by Georgann Schmalz of Birding Adventures, Inc taken from http://www.birdjam.com/howto.
“Learning bird songs takes patience, perseverance, and persistence, along with a good ear, a good tutor, and a good deal of practice. The best method is to bravely venture out with a patient teacher who never tires of endlessly telling you, 'that's a Carolina Wren; that's a Carolina Wren, that's a Carolina Wren, that's a Carolina Wren.’ And just when you think it's safe, this same saintly person will devilishly throw out, ‘that's a Carolina Wren's aggressive chip note, but the one before that was its contact trill note’ so on and so on as the bird goes through its repertoire of 700 million noises.”
Quote by Georgann Schmalz of Birding Adventures, Inc taken from http://www.birdjam.com/howto.
 |
| Nothing like a visual to clinch it: Ornithologist Josep Ribas (baseball -apped) and GOT birders in the woods at Torre Marimon |
List compiled by GOT veteran Ferran Pascual of the 43 bird species seen or heard.
(Numbers refer to total of each species identified):
7 Barn Swallows, Hirundo rustica, Golondrina Común, Oreneta vulgar
1 Blue Tit, Cyanistes caeruleus, Herrerillo Común, Mallerenga blava, Blaumeise, Mésange bleue
2 Cattle Egrets, Bubulcus ibis, Garcilla Bueyera, Esplugabous
7 Cetti's Warblers, Cettia cetti, Ruiseñor Bastardo, Rossinyol bord, Seidensänger, Bouscarle de Cetti
2 Cirl Buntings, Emberiza cirlus, Escribano Soteño, Gratapalles, Zaunammer, Bruant zizi
9 Blackbirds, Turdus merula, Mirlo Común, Merla,Amsel, Merle noir
2 Common Buzzards, Buteo buteo, Ratonero común, aligot comú, Bussarde,Buse variable
1 Common Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita, Mosquitero Común, Mosquiter comú, Zilpzalp, pouillot véloce
2 Common Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, Cuco Común, Cucut
3 House Martin, Delichon urbicum, Avión Común, Oreneta cuablanca
4 Rufous Nightingale, Luscinia megarhynchos, Ruiseñor Común, Rossinyol
2 Common Pheasants, Phasianus colchicus, Faisán Vulgar, Faisà
6 Common Starlings, Sturnus vulgaris,Estornino Pinto, Estornell vulgar,Star,Étourneau sansonnet
7 Common Swifts, Apus apus, Vencejo Común, Falciot negre
1 Common Woodpigeon, Columba palumbus, Paloma Torcaz, Tudó, Ringeltaube, Pigeon ramier
1 Corn Bunting, Emberiza calandra, Triguero, Cruixidell, Grauammer, Bruant proyerc
>15 Crested Larks, Galerida cristata, Cogujada Común, Cogullada vulgar, Haubenlerche, Cochevis huppé
7 Blackcaps, Sylvia atricapilla, Curruca Capirotada, Tallarol de casquet, Bergeronnette grise,Fauvette à tête noire
6 Eurasian Collared Doves,Streptopelia decaocto,Tórtola Turca, Tórtora turca,Elster,Pie bavarde
3 Eurasian Jays, Garrulus glandarius, Arrendajo, Gaig, Eichelhäher, Geai des chênes
8 Magpies, Pica pica, Urraca, Garsa, Blauelster, Pie bleue
7 Eurasian Goldfinchs, Carduelis carduelis, Jilguero Cadernera, Stieglitz, Chardonneret élégant
3 European Green Woodpeckers, Picus viridis, Pito Real, Picot verd,Grünspecht, Pic vert
3 European Greenfinchs, Carduelis chloris, Verderón Común, Verdum, Grünling, verdier d'Europe
>25 European Serins, Serinus serinus, Verdecillo, Gafarró, Girlitz, Serin cini
4 Great Tits, Parus major, Carbonero Común, Mallerenga carbonera, Kohlmeise, Mésange charbonnière
2 Grey Herons, Ardea cinerea, garza real, Bernat pescaire, Graureiher, Héron Cendré
5 House Sparrows, Passer domesticus, Gorrión Común, Pardal comú, Haussperling, Moineau domestique
1 Little Owl, Athene noctua, Mochuelo Europeo, Mussol comú, Steinkauz, Chevêche d'Athéna
2 Mallards, Anas platyrhynchos, Ánade Azulón, Ànec collverd, Stockente, Canard colvert
1 Montagu's Harrier, Circus pygargus, Aguilucho Cenizo, Esparver cendrós
1 Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa Perdiz Roja Perdiu roja, Rothuhn, Perdrix rouge
5 Sardinian Warblers, Sylvia melanocephala, Curruca Cabecinegra, Tallarol capnegre, Samtkopfgrasmücke, Fauvette mélanocéphale
2 Short-toed Treecreepers, Certhia brachydactyla, Agateador Común, Raspinell comú
1 Tawny Pipit, Anthus campestris, Bisbita Campestre, Trobat
1 Tree Pipit, Anthus trivialis, Bisbita Arbóreo, Piula dels arbres
1 Western Bonelli's Warbler Phylloscopus bonelli, Mosquitero Papialbo, Mosquiter pàl·lid
3 Western Yellow Wagtails, Motacilla flava, Lavandera Boyera, Cuereta groga
2 White Wagtails, Motacilla alba, Lavandera Blanca, Cuereta blanca, Bachstelze, Bergeronnette grise
3 Wrens, Troglodytes troglodytes, Chochín Común, Cargolet, Zaunkönige, Troglodyte mignon
2 Woodchat Shrikes, Lanius senator, Alcaudón Común, Capsigrany
1 Zitting Cisticola, Cisticola juncidis, Buitrón, Trist
No comments:
Post a Comment