Re: [nfc-l] Hermit Thrush flight calls on ground

2011-10-14 Thread Ethan Duke 
Chris,

It definitely seems more likely that it is on the high end of the motivation 
spectrum. Seems like a long shot for a flight vocalization.

Thanks!

Ethan

On 13 Oct 2011, at 10:44 AM, Christopher Heckscher wrote:

> Ethan,
> 
> The vocalization you sent is not what I would normally call the "whisper 
> song".  Instead, we informally refer to this as the "electric note" -- the 
> term was adopted from some Wood Thrush researchers in Dr. Roth's lab at 
> University of Delaware.  The Wood Thrush has a very similar vocalization.  
> The electric note is often given early and late in the breeding season 
> usually just before or after a song.  I'm not sure of the function but it's 
> clear it is given during times of high motivation.  The structure suggests it 
> could act as a high motivation/high aggression location cue for assessors.  I 
> would not expect the electric note to be given in flight, but who knows!
> 
> The whisper song -- as I know it -- is a full song that is sung at very low 
> amplitude.  If I recall correctly, Gene Morton has hypothesized that the 
> whisper song is produced such that the song is received by assessors with 
> minimal reverberation and therefore may be highly threatening.  From my field 
> observations of Veeries I have no reason to think this is not the case.  
> Whisper songs are used by many species.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Christopher M. Heckscher, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor, Environmental Science & Ecology
> Institutional Project Director, NOAA Environmental Cooperative Science Center
> Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources
> Delaware State University
> 1200 N. DuPont Highway
> Dover, DE  19901
> 
> 
> From: bounce-38145761-10105...@list.cornell.edu 
> [bounce-38145761-10105...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Ethan Duke 
> [ethan.d...@mrbo.org]
> Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 4:12 PM
> To: NFC-L
> Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Hermit Thrush flight calls on ground
> 
> Chris,
> I'm sure you've encountered the Veery "Whisper Song." I was wondering if you 
> have elucidated any possible functions? Do you thing it is used in flight? 
> I've recorded it several times and imagine it wouldn't have enough amplitude 
> to be picked up by most NFC recorders. I've attached an image of one.
> 
> 
> --
> 
> NFC-L List Info:
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_WELCOME
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_RULES
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC-L_SubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
> 
> ARCHIVES:
> 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nfc-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
> 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NFC-L
> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html
> 
> Please submit your observations to eBird:
> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
> 
> --
> 


--

NFC-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_WELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_RULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC-L_SubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nfc-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NFC-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

Re: [nfc-l] Beginning NFC recording in the Pacific Northwest help

2011-10-14 Thread Jay Withgott 

Hi Dan --

That's great that you'll be recording, and there are many folks on 
this list who can help.  The bad news is the timing: The skies get 
pretty darn quiet around here after about now. I suspect that the 
heavy flight last night contained the last gasp of Swainson's 
Thrushes pushing through this season. There will be some Hermit 
Thrushes and Varied Thrushes and Yellow-rumps and sparrows going 
through for the next couple of weeks, but it's not at all as noisy as 
it is in the East.  So if you intend to do this this fall, you'll 
definitely want to get going ASAP.  Best wishes!

Jay Withgott, Portland, OR


At 7:21 PM -0700 10/13/11, Dan Gusset wrote:
>Greetings Night Flight Call Group!
>
>I am a student at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. I have 
>been watching and listening to birds for a few years and have 
>recently become excited about doing nocturnal migrant surveys. I 
>would like to do a survey over the next few weeks for a school 
>research project. I have found some of the available online 
>resources such as OldBird.org and Bill Evans' cd, but would like to 
>talk to someone who has done nocturnal migrant recording locally to 
>help me get set up with equipment and to know about timing etc. For 
>instance, how much longer will the passerines be migrating for? It 
>has been mostly overcast here every night for the last week and a 
>half and I have hardly heard any flight calls whereas about a month 
>ago I was hearing a lot of thrush flight calls. All of the research 
>I have found so far has been specific to the east coast so a pointer 
>to Pacific Northwest research or someone who has done this work in 
>the Pacific Northwest would be great! Also some tips on affordable 
>equipment-- does it really only take 3 hours to build the bucket 
>recorder on the Oldbird.org website?
>
>Thank you very much!
>Dan Gusset
>The Evergreen State College
>Olympia, WA
>--
>NFC-L List Info:
>Welcome and Basics
>Rules and Information
>Subscribe,
> 
>Configuration and Leave
>Archives:
>The Mail Archive
>Surfbirds
>BirdingOnThe.Net
>Please submit your observations to eBird!
>--

--

NFC-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_WELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_RULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC-L_SubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nfc-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NFC-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--