A Song Sparrow sings from a prairie while perched just above the vegetation, which was about to my shoulders at this time of year. The rattly song of an Eastern Kingbird, Red-winged Blackbirds calling from the wet bits of a nearby habitat, an American Robin, a House Wren singing its descending song, and the slow slurs of a Yellow-throated Vireo can all be heard in the background. People were also out and about, walking on the sidewalks and driving their cars to the trails.

Song Sparrow | Fort Harrison SP, Indianapolis, IN | 11 Jun 2022

A bright yellow male sings on its territory in the Indiana Dunes State Park campground. At the same time, his female partner builds their nest nearby. Chattering Chimney Swifts flying sorties above make alien-like music in the sky. At 1:37 p.m., the sun is bright and warm, and I bathe in the sunshine and sounds as I take a break from my Indiana Dunes Birding Festival guiding duties.

Yellow-throated Vireo | Indiana Dunes SP--Campground, Chesterton, IN | 13 May 2022

This is an example of the dynamic soundscape we hear from our urban-ish yard at peak spring migration. A Canada Warbler gleans for food in one of our mature oak trees at mid-height. I'd just gotten out of the shower when Jonathan called my attention to the singing bird. I dashed out the front door barefoot, clutching my microphone, recorder, and headphones. My neighbor soon appeared on the street in her school bus. I was too preoccupied with the sounds coming through my headphones to notice her disdain as I stood in the front yard in my towel.

Canada Warbler | Forest View Drive, Indianapolis, IN | 20 May 2022

Wood Thrushes have an ethereal sound and an elusive presence. I'll never get tired of listening to their songs. If you can get past the Northern Cardinal's boisterous territorial showmanship in this recording, you'll be able to hear the buzzing songs of two Wood Thrushes. (You'll also hear that I was a little too fidgety while recording on this day.)

Wood Thrush | Turkey Foot Park, Zionsville, IN | 13 Jul 2020

Have you ever paid attention to a Tree Swallow's constant low-key song? I'm not referring to the calls they make while flying; I'm referring to their singing while perched. The experience is very enjoyable, as the repeated watery gurgles and chirps create a strange song. These birds can make a lot of noise despite having such a small-looking mouth.

Tree Swallow | Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis, IN | 4 May 2022

Black-and-white Warblers have, quite possibly, the most fabulous undertail covert markings of any bird I’ve seen. Next time you hear/see one, make sure to check out its butt as you peak up at it from below.

Black-and-white Warbler | Juan Solomon Park, Indianapolis, IN | 25 Apr 2022

A Henslow's Sparrow's "song" is less musical and more of a sneeze or hiccup. One of my anticipated annual delights is finding these birds in this damp tall-grass prairie from year to year.

Henslow's Sparrow | Eagle's Crest Prairie, Indianapolis, IN | 22 May 2022

A short recording, highlighting the quintessential "dick dick ciss ciss ciss" song of a Dickcissel. These birds annually sing from the weedy plots of land surrounding a suburban business park.

Dickcissel | Lebanon Business Park, Lebanon, IN | 25 Jul 2020

I uploaded this first bird audio recording to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library months after repatriating to the U.S. in 2016.

One of my most memorable birding experiences in Hong Kong was hearing a Pygmy Cupwing in one of the city's forested woodlands. It's challenging to see Hong Kong's woodland bird species, especially Pygmy Cupwings. They're small and mysterious. Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve in the New Territories is home to some of Hong Kong's best secondary forests, and one of the Pygmy Cupwing's homes. (Nearly all woodlands in Hong Kong are secondary forests due to habitat loss caused by hundreds of years of human impact, such as tea cultivation, population influx, war, and so on.)

Tai Po Kau's foliage is so dense, and the moss is widespread. I couldn't see these birds, but I heard them along the streams, and getting a recording of them with just my iPhone was exciting. I've uploaded this rudimentary smartphone recording as it marks the start of my fascination with birdsong and capturing it in recordings.

The unnamed author of an eBird page for this species humorously describes the bird as "essentially a tiny brown tennis ball supported by flesh-colored chopsticks."

Pygmy Cupwing | Tai Po Kau, Hong Kong | 9 Feb 2016

On the recommendation of a U.S. Forest Service ranger, we visited a sandy road, which provided better audio recording opportunities for Kirtland's Warbler. The previous day had been very windy, and my microphone picked up a lawnmower in the distance — despite not seeing houses nearby as we drove deep into the Jack pines. We returned the next morning to enjoy the quiet soundscape of several singing males. 

According to the ranger, this location's habitat was at the edge of an 8,500-acre wildfire in May 2010. The Jack Pines on this road were mostly taller than us, standing 7 to 10 feet tall, with other younger Jack Pines standing about chest high. 13 years later, it's nice to see and hear a healthy population of Kirtland's Warblers.

I still wonder wonder whether the species should've been delisted.

Kirtland's Warbler | Huron-Manistee National Forests, Roscommon, MI | 26 May 2023

Birding is more than observation; it's profoundly experiential and mindful. It is grounding to share space, time, and a locale with birds as they perform their biological and physiological functions. Listening to birds, whether in person or through field recordings, is a form of solidarity.

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"Someone once told me that every writer has a subject that underlies everything they write. It can be love or death, betrayal or belonging, home or hope or exile. I choose to think that my subject is love, and most specifically for the glittering world of non-human life around us." —Helen Macdonald, from "Vesper Flights" (2020)

Vermilion Flycatcher photo by Jonathan Yoerger

Glittering Ornithophilia Snippets