The song of the mistle thrush, rather like a rushed blackbird. It’s a brief torrent of fluty notes, almost like a turn on a toy carousel. Then a pause. Then another round.

Mistle thrushes like to sing from a high perch, and are quite happy singing in the rain, a behaviour captured in their old name of 'stormcock'. 

The audio here is adapted from a recording by  https://soundcloud.com/fintanobrien 

Image is by TheOtherKev via Pixabay.

Mistle Thrush song

Lesser Whitethroats have a quiet scratchy warble, which is often inaudible, and a much louder ‘rattle’, comprising one note in a rapid series. 

This rattle might easily be dismissed as something else, perhaps a greenfinch or a yellowhammer, especially as it’s often hard to see what’s making the noise.  But once you are tuned in to it it’s amazing how many more lesser whitethroats you may hear. 

Give it a try  it a try from late April. Find a green lane or scrubby patch and listen specifically for that rattle, and perhaps get a glimpse of the rather neat, dark-headed little warbler behind it. 

This recording is adapted from an original by Fintan O'Brien https://soundcloud.com/fintanobrien

The image of a lesser whitethroat is by hedara.baltica on Flickrhttps://flic.kr/p/254GsK2 reproduced under Creative Commons licence CC BY-SA 2.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Lesser Whitethroat

The whispering song of the treecreeper is made up of a descending series of notes with a little flourish at the end. It's like a cross between a willow warbler and chaffinch, but sounds thinner than either of those, rather silvery, almost apologetic.

This recording was made by Paul Holt in Lancashire and is reproduced with permission. The original recording can be found on xeno-canto.
https://www.xeno-canto.org/570592  

The image by Mike Pennington is reproduced under Creative Commons licence CC BY-SA 2.0 https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5690524

xeno-canto

Treecreeper song

The song of the stock dove is one of the subtlest of all our birds. 

Like other doves and pigeons, it’s a variation on a ‘coo’, but the stock dove sounds as though it’s doing things in reverse.

It’s a sound most often encountered in woodland and wooded countryside, and sometimes in town parks and large gardens.

Imagine the bird is scratching a record, swiping it backwards and forwards.  

Read more about the stock dove on Shriek of the Week https://shriekoftheweek.substack.com/

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The sound recording is by Lars Edenius, reproduced with permission from xeno-canto https://www.xeno-canto.org/558809 

Also audible in this recording: Redwing, White Wagtail and Common Snipe. 

The image is by emphyrio on Pixabayhttps://pixabay.com/photos/stock-dove-bird-meadow-dove-pigeon-6347242/

Stock Dove

A brief snippet of a stock dove's rhythmic 'reverse-cooing'. 

Also audible are chiffchaff and wren. 

This is taken from a recording by Alexander Henderson at Ramscombe Bottom, Chilcombe, Bath and North East Somerset, England. It is reproduced with permission. The original recording can be found on xeno-canto. https://www.xeno-canto.org/554737

The thin, icy contact calls of Redwings. The sound is often heard on still autumn nights in the UK as Redwings arrive from the North, but it can also be heard through the winter anywhere that Redwings gather, such as scrubby woodland edge and hedgerows. 

Also in this recording: Robin making its 'ticking' calls  

Thanks to Mark Gurney for providing the recording.

Photo by Marko Hankkila / Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/dsHbFAIvgLo

Redwing contact calls

Blackbird roosting calls

Firecrest singing, Hailsham, East Sussex, February 2022. A simple series of accelerating notes. 

A robin can also be heard towards the end of the track.  

A high pass filter used on this recording to lessen road traffic noise. 

Photo by Kiril Gruev from Pexels

Firecrest song

Firecrest contact calls

Recording of a singing Iberian Chiffchaff at Abbot's Wood, Arlington, East Sussex on 5 May 2023. 

Image by Chris Ball

Iberian Chiffchaff

The piercing, panicky flight call of the Green Sandpiper, invariably given the birds is disturbed, and often given the listener a surprise because Green Sandpipers are very discreet on the ground, typically stepping around the muddy edge of even the smallest wet patch.  

This was recorded on my phone in spring 2022, at Hailsham, East Sussex, UK. 

Green Sandpiper image by Charles J. Sharp, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Green Sandpiper - flight call

Eurasian Curlew - snippet of song and 'cor-leee' calls.

Curlews emit an excellent range of shrill noises. The easiest to recognise is the one that we use to name them: a high, far-carrying ‘cor-leee’. 

This is a sound many of us may carry in memories of a chilly seaside walk. Curlews were made to stick their beaks in soft mud. Where there’s mud, revealed at low tide in great slabs across an estuary or harbour, there will most likely be curlews, feeding and calling.  

for more about Curlews and their sounds, visit Shriek of the Week
https://shriekoftheweek.substack.com

Audio adapted from longer recording by Lawrence Shove in 1960s, and distributed by the British Library under CC licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Original recording: https://soundcloud.com/the-british-library/curlew-song-calls-united-kingdom-1960s

Curlew image by Premed Hajek via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/bird-curlew-beak-sea-nature-7394957/

Curlew - song and call

Recording by Mike Douglas, from Cumbria, England. Reproduced with permission. Listen to the original upload at xeno-canto https://xeno-canto.org/685093

Brambling call

One of the alarm calls of the Eurasian Wren, Troglodytes troglodytes. 

This sound is a great cluse to nearby trouble. The trigger might be a cat or a person (perhaps you), but it could also be a fox, stoat or something else low to the ground that might otherwise pass you by.

Wrens also make a briefer, stonier 'tck!' sound. 

Audio by Klankbeeld, provided via Freesound under Creative Commons licence CC BY 4.0 DEED https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Image by Siegfried Poepperl via Pixabay

Wren - alarm call

The song is a couple of high notes followed by a lower twittering - the same pattern as blue tits use in many of their other calls. 

High-high-high low-low-low-low. 

This version is adapted from a recording by Aubrey John Williams as shared by the British Library, to focus on the typical song pattern. 

Recording date
1979/05/27

Recording locations
Rye Grove, Windelsham, Surrey: OS Grid Reference(493500,163500)

Recordist
Williams, Aubrey John

Reproduced under creative commons licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Published by British Library: https://soundcloud.com/the-british-library/blue-tit-song-surrey-england-may-1979

Blue Tit song

Blackbirds sounding their 'tchuk tchuk tchuk' alarm calls. 

For tips on identifying blackbirds by sound, visit Birdsong Academy
https://www.birdsong.academy/blackbird 

Audio adapted from an original recording by Fintan O'Brien
https://soundcloud.com/fintanobrien/blackbird-alarm-calls-14-june-20-927pm

Image by Helga Kattinger from Pixabay
https://pixabay.com/users/helgaka-2849566/

Blackbird - alarm calls

Robin in song, winter. 

Also audible in this recording: Song Thrush, Dunnock, Coot, Moorhen, Long-tailed Tit and Carrion Crow. 

Recorded at Fonthill Lake, Wiltshire on 18th February 1999 by Richard Savage, and shared as part of the British Library sound collection: https://soundcloud.com/the-british-library/robin-song-wiltshire-1999 

This recording is reproduced under Creative Commons licence CC-BY-3.0.

Profile Image by TeeFarm from Pixabay

Robin song

The fragile song of a Dunnock. 

While subtler than the songs of Wrens and Robins, the sound can be heard in many of the same places, through the year. The song can be especially noticeable on an icy winter's morning under a clear sky, when the crystalline sound compliments the conditions.

Adapted from an original recording by Ivo Vicic (via the Soundsnap library). 

Image by TheOtherKev on Pixabay.

Dunnock song

The see-saw song of a Great Tit. 

As well as having highly distinctive calls (the typical song is 'teacher-teacher' - or something like the action of a rusty bicycle pump), Great Tits are also great mimics and highly creative. 

One rule of thumb for birders is: if you don't know what it is, it's probably a Great Tit. 

This audio is adapted form an original recording by Ivo Vicic, made available via the Soundsnap library.

The image is by Mabel Amber via Pixabay. 
Follow https://www.instagram.com/mabelamberthemessiah/ on Instagram

Great Tit song

Among the Great Tit's many vocalisations, this is one of the most regular alarm calls - the 'tchink tchink' exclamation followed by a series of rough churrs. It's a warning you may often hear along a hedgerow as you pass by. 

The audio is adapted from a recording by Ivo Vicic, made available via Soundsnap.

The image is by Mabel Amber via Pixabay. 
Follow https://www.instagram.com/mabelamberthemessiah/ on Instagram

Great Tit calls

The song of Europe's tiniest bird, the Goldcrest, sounds like an equally small, squeaky wheel. Imagine it rolling down a hill and falling over at the bottom. 

Goldcrests can be found in many parks, gardens and woodland around evergreen trees, and are one of the few birds to make a home in leylandii hedges. 

Their song can be hear from early in the year, and although goldcrests are inconspicuous they are not often shy, so patience can be rewarded with views of their wonderful yellow or orange crown. 

Audio adapted from an original recording by Fintan O'Brien https://soundcloud.com/fintanobrien 

Image by Hans Veth on Unsplash
https://unsplash.com/photos/bWMuNs-AAiM

Goldcrest song

The drumming of the great spotted woodpecker carries with it the promise of Spring. 

It's packaged in a short burst, much less than a second, followed by a long past. In this recording, the gaps are between 10 and 20 seconds. This gives the listener a sense of anticipation - did I heard that right? Has it stopped for good? Did it disappear? It's like a little microcosm of those occasional warm early spring days which can seem so certain of the season, only to be wiped out by a convulsion of cold wet weather, a sting in winter's tail.   

Recording adapted from the work of Ivo Vicic, via Soundcloud

Image by Hans Veth https://unsplash.com/photos/d49PdayQuHA

Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming

The explosive 'chick' call is often delivered as the bird flies or when it's perched in the highest branches of a tree. Once you know it, you may well find many more great spotted woodpeckers than you were aware of before.

The audio is adapted from a recording by Ivo Vicic via Soundsnap, 

The image is by Hans Veth on Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/vcMoP6bG66E

Great Spotted Woodpecker call

On a mission to restore our knowledge of the warbles, chirrups and kerchinks in our world.

Birdsong Academy

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