Spring Songbird Concert Series
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Send to friend6/1/09
Spring Songbird Concert Series
Every year towns around the area host summer concert series. These outdoor venues offer a variety of regional talent and feature a community band.
A Spring Concert Series with a different kind of talent is now playing in back yards and along farm lanes all around Auglaize County. Most bird choirs are made up of local talent: red-winged black birds, song sparrows, robins, house finches, starlings, and American gold finches.
Each year we try to attract new talent to our musical family by improving habitat. This season we added nest boxes, and are delighted with the blue birds, tree swallows, and Carolina wrens that have taken up residence and added their voice to the ensemble.
The trees in our landscape are maturing and therefore starting to attract woodland song birds. This year we have a guest soloist, unsurpassed in voice range and variety, the brown thrasher. Although not a beauty to look at, his talent soars above most other song birds.
His selection of songs is vast and he continually changes his tune. In Birds of Ohio, McCormac and Kennedy (2004) describes the brown thrasher’s song: “With over 1100 documented sounds, its vocal repertoire is even more expansive than the northern mocking bird.” How is that for making top billing?
On a recent morning we were treated to a duet of two mimic thrushes, the brown thrasher having been joined by the grey cat bird. The cat bird song is described as “squeaks and poorly mimicked phrases” and “nonstop, rapid-fire series of squeaky notes in a haphazard order, often jumbling along in a disjointed cacophony,” a less than stellar performance. I’ve concluded that the brown thrasher voice is best utilized as a solo.
Our back yard concerts start at day break. A comfy chair, cup of coffee, pair of binoculars and a bird ID book are all that is needed to make the most of these performances. Alternatively, an open window in the bedroom, tucked under the covers with eyes shut, is another optimal location for a concert.
The Songbird Concert Series is best appreciated in the spring. The choir is mostly made up of male birds singing to attract a mate or establish territory. Once mated, the singing tends to lessen but not altogether disappear. Mornings are best before lawn mowers, farm tractors, and other human noise overpowers the choir. Head outdoors and listen to your own spring bird choir.
Saturday, June 6 is National Trail Days. Take a hike along the Miami and Erie Canal from Glynwood Road to Lock 14 Park. Located three miles north of St. Marys, the Heritage Trails Park District invites you to celebrate and take a hike on a new section of Towpath Trail any time from 9-noon. For more information call 419.202.6053.
Allison Brady, Executive Director
Heritage Trails Park District- Your Auglaize County Parks
