Thursday 6 June 2013

Name That Tune



This recording was made by the lagoons with a directional microphone and has not been messed about with in any way. What exactly can you hear?

9 comments:

gwh said...

Redd Warbler ,song thrush ,wren whitehroat, blackcap. gwh

Andy Kiz said...

I believe the 'main bird' in song is a Whitethroat

TheBaldIbis said...

Two species are easy to pick out. A third one is harder because it is being drowned out by the other two.

Here are some clues...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B6HNg7qznU&list=PL7D29B006A6FCBCCD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLkBVToXR9I&list=PL7D29B006A6FCBCCD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF7JTlsc72Q&list=PL7D29B006A6FCBCCD

TheBaldIbis said...

Listen closely to the phrase that starts at 6 seconds

David Sutcliffe said...

Song thrush and Reed W , still thinking about the other one!

David Sutcliffe said...

Tricky but I'm going for Garden W as it seems slightly faster than Blackcap. Go on tell me I've picked the wrong one. !

B.Nield said...

First I hear is Reed Warbler, then a Song Thrush, I think I catch a Blackcap & in the background faint Willow Warbler & Whitethroat with a possible Wren & Robin? If somebody would kindly shoot the Song Thrush & play it again!!!

TheBaldIbis said...

Ok, I've looped sections of the recording and listened to them over and over again in Soundtrack Pro with Sennheiser HD 25 headphones that are very discriminating. It's not an easy recording to decipher. The third species is most likely to be a Garden Warbler. It is singing in short phrases separated by pauses and has that Blackbird like warble in its tone. Although it suggests Blackcap, and I did think of Blackcap initially, Blackcap is thinner, scratchier, more hurried and generally delivered without pauses. Some of the softer parts suggest Robin or Willow Warbler, especially when drowned out by the other two songsters but unless anyone can convince me otherwise; the artistes are; Song Thrush, Reed Warbler and Garden Warbler. It really does show how difficult identifying birdsong can be sometimes.

David Sutcliffe said...

Well done Steve - a good learning curve.