Soundscapes
Birding by ear unlocks a whole exciting world of hidden birds. Learning songs and calls is a key step in that journey, but it can feel intimidating when you’re at a wetland and many birds are vocalizing at once. These soundscapes have been carefully selected and animated to help you make the connection to the sound you hear and a positive ID under real-life conditions.
For the best experience, use over-ear headphones.
Note that recordings often contain species not covered in MarshWatch, and distant species are omitted.
Soundscape 1
LeConte’s Sparrow, American Coot, and more
This recording was made near Foam Lake, Saskatchewan on June 05, 2015 at 3:00 AM.
Species heard in taxonomic order: Sora, American Coot, Wilson’s Snipe, Eastern Kingbird, Marsh Wren, Clay-colored Sparrow, LeConte’s Sparrow, Nelson’s Sparrow, and Common Yellowthroat.
Soundscape 2
Pied-billed Grebe, Sora, Gadwall, and more
This recording made near Aberdeen, Saskatchewan on June 18, 2018 at 5:12 AM
This annotation highlights the following species: Gadwall, Pied-billed Grebe, Sora, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Red-winged Blackbird.
Other species heard include: American Crow, House Wren, American Robin, Clay-colored Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, and Yellow Warbler
Soundscape 3
Listen Beyond the Raucous Red-winged Blackbirds
This recording was made near Vonda, Saskatchewan on June 19, 2018 at 4:00 AM.
Species heard in taxonomic order: Northern Shoveler, Mourning Dove, Sora, Wilson’s Snipe, American Bittern, American Crow, American Robin, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Baltimore Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, and Clay-colored Sparrow.
Spectrograms
A spectrogram is a visual representation of sound. It can be very helpful to “see” the sound, especially for those of us that are less musically inclined.
Time is on the x-axis, frequency is on the y-axis (higher pitched sounds are higher in frequency), and the loudness is represented by the vividness of the colour; pink in this case. Together, this all makes a pattern that you can use to better understand the sound you are hearing. You can see changes in pitch, individual notes, and cadence of the song or call.
Spectrogram Study
Boreal Chorus Frog and Cope’s Gray Treefrog
Here is a short video comparing the calls of the Boreal Chorus Frog and Cope’s Gray Treefrog.
Spectrogram Study
Sedge Wren
This is a short clip showing the spectrogram of Sedge Wrens singing. Sedge Wren songs are composed of introductory notes, followed by a mechanical trill or rattle.
