Re: [nfc-l] Fwd: Understanding radar and quantifying migration

[Ted Floyd]

Hi, all.

If you just can't get enough from Andrew Farnsworth ([?]), try this:

http://www2.aba.org/page.aspx?pid=696

Farnsworth provides 8 tips for "Learning to Appreciate Nocturnal Flight
Calls," and he provides a bunch of flight calls for us to listen to. I note
that the link above requires an ABA login. So, assuming that not all of you
have ABA logins, I paste below the full text.

Ted Floyd, Colorado, tfl...@aba.org



Andrew Farnsworth’s Expert Advice for Learning to Appreciate Flight Calls



Lots of people ask how they can best begin to appreciate flight calls. I
have a few suggestions.

*1. Commit to It.*
To really learn flight calls, commit yourself to spending a lot of time
awake at night, outside, staring up at the sky.

*[image: Magnolia Warbler
Spectrogram]
**2. Start with Sounds You Know.*
Stick with calls that you hear both day and night, such as the distinctive
flight calls of the Dickcissel 
, Bobolink , andUpland
Sandpiper.
The suite of sounds from these species is a great way to get started.

*3. Do Some Homework.*
Extensively review Bill Evans and Michael O’Brien’s seminal identification
guide on CD-ROM: *Flight Calls of Migratory Birds: Eastern North American
Landbirds* . Listening to the calls *
and* looking at the sound spectrograms is critical to learning. Tuning your
ear to very subtle variation in flight call frequencies, modulations, and
durations is tricky, and using visual representations (the spectrograms)
gives your aural discrimination a boost by adding the visual information. *
Seeing* that a Magnolia Warbler has a modulated flight call (see sound
spectrogram, right and *hearing* the same
call is
very important for the learning process.

*4. Tune in to Common Nocturnal Vocalizers.*
After that initial suite of diurnal and nocturnal vocalizers, get to know
some widespread and common nocturnal vocalizers, such as the Savannah
Sparrow  and Swainson’s
Thrush . Because these
species give flight calls day and night, this suite of sounds can be a big
confidence booster: “Hey, I know that sound, I heard it during the day!”
Starting with common sounds gives you a reference frame. Then you can
branch into more esoteric ground. And you’ll need to do some heavy-duty
birding at “morning flight” locations. Any time you can spend time in the
field seeing birds in migration and hearing them produce flight calls, do
it! Arizona’s San Pedro River Valley, Higbee Beach in New Jersey, Matagorda
Island in Texas, and Florida’s Green Key funnel are all great places to see
and hear.

*5. Get Away from Urban Areas—or Not.*
Get away from urban areas if you want to experience the sound of nocturnal
migration without much human interference. I realize, though, that it is
more and more difficult to do this. If you are not a purist, and you are
willing to take advantage of what is probably a type of alarm behavior,
station yourself in a well lit and sporadically noisy place like, say,
Hackensack, New Jersey, in May on a night with warm southerly winds. The
passing air traffic from Newark frequently stimulates birds to vocalize,
and you might hear a Gray-cheeked
Thrush,
an American Redstart ,
or a Yellow-billed Cuckoo.
Also, the surrounding lights of humanity that color the night sky close to
urban centers, and punctuate the sky in many places, can actually stimulate
migration. One epic case is the Tribute in Light September 11 memorial in
Manhattan. One of the most amazing nights of flight calling in recent
history in the northeastern U.S. occurred there in 2011. I had the good
fortune of running a recording device, which documented tens of thousands
of calls from birds flying around the beams of light.

*6. Focus on the Fall.*
Generally, fall migration is a time of much higher calling activity,
presumably because there are simply more birds aloft and many of these
birds are young birds that appear to vocalize more frequently.

*7. Pick Your Time.*
Choose the best time of night for the species you want to hear. Numerous
studies have shown a peak in calling activity in the hours just before
dawn, but the peaks in calling vary by species. The pre-dawn hours are no
doubt the best hours to hear *Catharus*
thrushes,
sometimes by the thousands. However, calling activity can be excellent
throughout the evening depending on prevailing local and regional wind and
weather conditions.

*8. Branch Out.*
Good places to listen are surprisingly 

[nfc-l] Fwd: Understanding radar and quantifying migration

[Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes]

I thought the link below might be of interest to some on this eList.

Good night listening as the season ramps up!

Sincerely,
Chris T-H

Begin forwarded message:

From: Christopher Leighton Wood 
mailto:chris.w...@cornell.edu>>
Date: April 9, 2013 5:25:23 PM EDT
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L 
mailto:cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu>>
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Understanding radar and quantifying migration
Reply-To: Christopher Leighton Wood 
mailto:chris.w...@cornell.edu>>

At last night's very well attended Cayuga Bird Club meeting at the Cornell Lab 
of Ornithology, David Nicosia gave an overview of birds and weather. There was 
a question about quantifying how many migrants are moving in relation to radar. 
I mentioned some Sid Gauthreaux and Carroll Belser's work at Clemson to develop 
a calibration curve for interpreting radar reflectivity in comparison with 
Lowery's classic moonwatching work. I also promised some additional information 
for those interested. Andrew Farnsworth has posted a primer on understanding 
radar and birds that discusses this and other aspects of radar and birds.

http://birdcast.info/forecast/understanding-birds-and-radar/

Cheers,
Chris

Christopher Wood
eBird Project Leader
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
http://ebird.org
http://birds.cornell.edu
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Chris Tessaglia-Hymes
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Ithaca, New York
c...@cornell.edu
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