Originally published as “Spring is On Its Way” 3/12/22
A pair of robins grabbed my attention with 5-6 loud calls. Could it be despair or a notice that I was approaching in the first hours of snow? One robin with the typical orange red underbelly appeared high and flew closer with the same call and then the second joined it to feast on red berries before the climax of the winter storm. It was not the typical “cheer up cheerily cheerily.”
The images here are from MerlinID, an app from Cornell Labs. The voice signature of the bird can be visualized where the frequency is measured and visually recorded to show the impact and length of the bird song or call. The app allows the viewer and listener to match the sound with bird. As of June 2021, there are over 400 species loaded into the automatic song ID, according to an article highlighting the technology in the Cornell Chronicle from June 2021. For these images appearing above and below, are matching songs and calls of the robins. The user played the collection of songs geographically available loaded and updated from a bird pack. After playing the recordings, the user recognized the calls from memory and current experience with the current database of recordings.
The visual contrast of the calls is remarkable based on my poetic training in replicating sounds using phonetics. Onomatopoeia uses words to imitate sounds. Many bird names are derived from these calls like the jay or chickadee. Often the bird name actually sounds like its recognizable song! The amazing gift of observation and libraries like these are that birds have a variety of songs to alert, notify, or beckon. The first is the typical sound you will hear from robin’s in the trees. The cheery call is familiar with the Spring season and sightings of robins on the ground tugging at worms. The second image is the “new” call I had not associated with the robin. It had a pitch of intensity and notification that made me pay attention!
Males are the most vocal when they return to warmer temperatures. As it turns out, their migration is not as far as we may think. They are actually around all year but will stay when the thaw happens thus giving their happy trill for warmer times. Here is an example of one of the many maps available on Journey North, a citizen science program that records the first sightings of the robin.
An exciting aspect of science is that you can participate with other scientists and volunteers to record observations about animals and birds returning for the warmer season.
A Blue Jay was also out scavenging in these mid morning hours. The conditions were slightly windy about 30 degrees with a snow cover and increasing wind. It is hard to imagine that today of all days would bring these harbingers of Spring!
Work in Progress 