Kitty Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Another night when I can't sleep and neither can a couple of birds. I've been going out to try to spot them (tonight is bathed in moonlight) to no avail. They are singing their hearts out with pretty songs.Does someone know which breed it would be? I live near the Atlantic coast in the south west of France.P.S. They always seem louder after a storm - relief that they have survivied? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 I wondered about Robins but that would be unusual at this time of year, or perhaps Reed buntings? Tawny owls have a variety of calls and are particularly active at this time of year. What sort of number of birds are we talking about and what do you have in the vicinity? Trees? Fields? Ponds or marshes?Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitty Posted December 1, 2009 Author Share Posted December 1, 2009 Thank you Chris.You might be right about robins because it is a sweet sound and there are a number of robins in the vicinity. Currently, I am the centre of a small village with many trees, no fields, but with marshes about a mile away. The chirping is in trees. There are probably fewer than four solitary birds (they are not grouped together but are in trees in different places). It's been happening all night and is very loud - one of the birds seems louder than the others. I know that it isn't any sort of owl as I am familiar with their sounds.Do robins sing at night?Do birds sing louder after a storm?Can you recommend a favourite website where I can listen to different bird sounds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitty Posted December 1, 2009 Author Share Posted December 1, 2009 Spot on, Chris. It is robins as I have just listened to a BBC website of bird song (via Google).They are singing outside now. I can hear it inside my house. It lasts all night.EDIT: I have just started investigating about robins singing at night. Apparently, they do sing in artificial light. Well, all the public lighting was renewed in the commune, which is why I haven't heard it before. Thank you so much, Chris, for identifying the sound. I am going to enjoy being awake at night... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 It was only a bit of a guess, quite interesting though. They can still hold territory in winter and don't like to get too close together.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judith Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 [quote user="Cathy"]EDIT: I have just started investigating about robins singing at night. Apparently, they do sing in artificial light. Well, all the public lighting was renewed in the commune, which is why I haven't heard it before. [/quote]In Alan Titchamarsh's prog about wildlife in Britain, he had a piece which showed that birds were waking earlier (or not even sleeping) in towns and cities in the UK because of the artificial lights - can't remember whether he used robins as an example, though they are very common in some places of course, so he might have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitty Posted December 2, 2009 Author Share Posted December 2, 2009 I have been reading about singing robins. Apparently, they sing louder after a noise, such as thunder, so that would tally with them singing after a storm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Great research.[:D] That's the way to do it, it's more rewarding as well....just my not at all humble opinion.[;-)]BTW. Blackbirds sing at night now where there is street lighting.[blink]Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitty Posted December 2, 2009 Author Share Posted December 2, 2009 Chris - you are the one of the brightest stars of this Forum. You know SOOOO much. If it hadn't been your suggestion, I wouldn't have been able to do my research.I read that people think that birds singing sweetly at night must be nightingales or nightjars but as both are migratory, they would not be winter singers.The singing is really lovely. I suspect that the night air makes it crisper and clearer. It's amazing that there are four of them at it.Earlier this year, one of them had been trying to build a nest about 6 ft away from our back door but then thought the better of it when he discovered we had four children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weedon Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Cathy, I am no expert by any means but I don't believe that nightjars have a song, as such, perhaps CPP can confirm or otherwise. I used to go walking in Bedgebury Forest many years ago just to see the nightjars doing their dusk performance. They do, what is described as, a chirring noise when perching. They also do a fascinating flying display fairly low and sort of clap their wings over their bodies, which seemed to me to make the midges rise from the bracken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Ooooo, that's always an interesting one, is it a call or is it a song? I think this gives a fairly good idea of "whats what". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_vocalizationIt's also possibly even more difficult in French, AFAIK everything is based on Chant, Chanteur, Chantent etc.or Cri in the case of birds such as Buzzards. Has that sufficiently muddied the waters? Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weedon Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Have a listen and judge for yourself whether it might be mistaken for any other bird song? http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/n/nightjar/index.aspxThe RSPB site seems to be a good place to listen to other bird calls/songs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitty Posted December 3, 2009 Author Share Posted December 3, 2009 Well. I have listened to lots of birds on both the sites Weedon and Chris suggested and I am thoroughly confused. What is a song and what is a cry? Which bird is which? Whatever. Bird song is pretty special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weedon Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 I agree Cathy that bird song is pretty special. I was merely trying to be helpful by pointing out that (in my laymans opinion) the nightjar made quite a distinctive noise and therefore could not be confused with another bird. This was just so that you might eliminate the nightjar from another bird. I am simply somebody who in this instance was using the Zulu Principle as laid down by Jim Slater, I did not appreciate that bird experts get a bit twitchy about whether it is a song, call or simply a noise made by rubbing their back legs together (if they have front and back legs). To me a robin and a blackbird have very melodious songs whilst a crow makes a b****y awful racket particularly outside the front of my house every morning!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 The main reason we can discount the Nightjar at the moment is because they are not here.That's that sorted then.[;-)]Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitty Posted December 5, 2009 Author Share Posted December 5, 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjkxSS_Edncand http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM--r-BTmEo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederick Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 I have just read that blackcaps have changed their migration pattern due to the fact that they have learned to rely on the food we put out over winter . Time to keep the bird feeders topped up in our gardens from now on . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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