Violet-green swallow by Kamilla Hindmarch

Perhaps you are reading this article from your living room, or your garden, or while awaiting a ferry that’s running late. If you have a moment, take one minute to close your eyes and tune into the sounds in your surroundings. Each of you will hear a slightly different soundscape. Perhaps you hear wind whispering through the trees, a bumblebee making its way to a flower, or a bird chirp chirping in the bushes. You will most likely hear urban sounds as well: a car driving by, a boat engine, a lawn mower. Oftentimes, the soundscape becomes blended in a busy day; see if you can unravel the different components.

Bird Sounds

Did you hear any songbirds? Let’s tune into them. Bird sounds can so easily blend with the rest of the soundscape and be layered on top of each other, like an orchestra. Perhaps you know your local bird sounds well, or maybe you are keen to learn. Songbirds are members of the order Passeriformes, often called perching birds. They have specialized feet with three toes forward and one backward that lock easily around branches, allowing them to perch with little effort. They also have a well developed syrinx, a vocal organ that allows them to sing complex melodies.

Can you hear any patterns in the bird sounds around you? Perhaps several white-crowned sparrows are answering one another across a field, while a pacific wren sings its solo melody from deep within the forest. Some bird sounds are short, sharp chirps, while others are long, musical compositions. Although it may sound like a jumble at first, each species has its own voice and, with practice, you’ll begin to individualize them, one by one.

Bird sounds are classified into songs and calls. Songs are typically used for breeding and defending territory and are most commonly heard around this time of year, from May to August, when birds are breeding. Some birds use their songs all year, while defending territory or possibly practicing for the upcoming mating season. Young birds learn their songs from adults around them, which results in different dialects depending on location. For example, white-crowned sparrows on SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island will sound slightly different from the same species in the interior.

Calls are used for general communication. Birds will use specific calls while in flight, and during migration season it can be a great way of locating a flock at night. Birds also use alarm calls to warn each other of approaching predators or other threats. These alarm calls can be for very specific occurrences. For example, the red throated loon has an alarm call for approaching eagles who threaten their young. Calls are typically trickier to learn as many species sound quite similar, while songs are more distinctive. Songs and calls that happen synchronously may sound chaotic, but different species often occupy different acoustic frequencies and offset the timing of their songs. This reduces direct overlap and allows many species to communicate simultaneously.

The Best Time to Listen

When is the best time to listen to birds? Well, the saying is true: the early bird gets the worm. You’ve probably woken up early just before sunrise, and heard the performance of bird songs. The twinkling stars have faded, and the sky is just starting to lighten. The wind is rustling in the trees, and a robin starts to sing; a solo act. Pretty soon, a white-crowned sparrow joins in, then a western tanager. It becomes a trio and, before long, a choir. This morning performance is called the dawn chorus. Birds are singing their hearts out,  many of them attempting to attract a mate. Most birds you hear at dawn are males, either seeking a mate, defending their territory, or practicing their calls. The dawn chorus occurs around May to July during the breeding season. There are many ideas as to why birds choose to sing at dawn: 1. the air is crisp and clear, and morning winds are often calmer, which helps sound travel, 2. singing early in the cold morning before feeding shows resilience in a mate, 3. birds are defending their territory after the nighttime, or 4. it is a good use of time as it is still too dark to forage.

Recognizing and Remembering Sounds

Bird calls can be tricky to remember when they are a series of chirps and whistles. Making a bird call into a memorable phrase or saying can be really helpful. Birders often use mnemonics in this way. For example, the great horned owl goes: “hoo-h-hoo, hoo hoo”, but if you add a little imagination, you can hear that it sounds like “who’s awake, me too”. You are much more likely to remember a catchy saying! Some birds have common mnemonics, but making up your own can be fun too.

Here are 10 common summertime bird songs, for the next time you go on a walk, a hike, or a beach wander. Take a listen and see if any birds you hear match these songs. Click on the bird names to listen to the species sounds.

Pacific Wren

Listen to their songs and calls: Pacific Wren Sounds, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Pacific wrens are small birds with a tail usually held upright, and a pale line above the eye. They have one of the longest bird songs in the area, around 5 to 10 seconds long. The song sounds very cheery and high pitched. These wrens like to spend time in dense, wet, coniferous forests. You’ll hear their song all year, but most frequently during breeding season.

White-Crowned Sparrow

Listen to their songs and calls: White-crowned Sparrow Sounds, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

White-crowned sparrows have very distinct white and black stripes on their head. Their song varies depending on their location, but the beginning of the song is always the same whistling notes. In our region white crowned sparrows say “more, more, more cheeeeeezies, please”. They can be bilingual, speaking multiple different dialects if they live on the border of two territories.

Spotted Towhee

Listen to their songs and calls: Spotted Towhee Sounds, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Spotted towhees have a black head and upperparts, rufous coloured sides, and a white belly.  They sound like they’re saying “Drink your teaaa”, with the last note being a buzz (like paper being stuck into a fan). Sometimes they just make the last buzzzz note on its own.

Swainson’s Thrush

Listen to their songs and calls: Swainson’s Thrush Sounds, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

The Swainson’s thrush has an olive brown back and head, with white underparts and brown spotting. This is a very common call on SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island, a spiraling flute-y sound.

Northern Yellow Warbler

Northern yellow warbler by Ryan Schain; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library

Listen to their songs and calls: Northern Yellow Warbler Sounds, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Northern yellow warblers are small and bright yellow, and males have streaks along the underside. This little warbler says softly: “Sweet sweet sweet, I-I’m so sweet!”

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Listen to their songs and calls: Chestnut-backed Chickadee Sounds, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Chestnut-backed chickadees have distinct chestnut coloured back and sides. Their song is very highpitched and is the same note repeated, sounding a bit like a squeaky bike wheel. They say “Sika dee dee!”, much faster than the black-capped chickadees “chick-a-dee, dee”.

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Listen to their songs and calls: Red-breasted Nuthatch Sounds, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

The red breasted nuthatch has a grey back, with a rufous belly and a black and white striped head. Their song sounds a bit like a car alarm: “YANK YANK YANK”, and much too duck-like to come from such a small bird. Males looking for a mate will most commonly sing this song. Males and females defending territory will sing a slower “Yank. Yank. Yank.”

Red-winged Blackbird

Listen to their songs and calls: Red-winged Blackbird Sounds, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Male red winged blackbirds are black with a very distinct red shoulder patch. Females are brown with streaking. They have a loud, robotic, trilly “conk-la-ree” song. They reside in marshy areas, and are often found in tall grass and reeds.

Western Flycatcher

Listen to their songs and calls: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Flycatcher/sounds

Western Flycatchers are olive-yellow in colour with a fluffy crown on its head. You will most often here its calling, saying a high pitched “pee-WEET”. The Pacific-sloped Flycatcher and the Cordellian Flycatcher were recently grouped into this one species.

Anna’s Hummingbird

Listen to their songs and calls: Anna’s Hummingbird Sounds, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Anna’s hummingbird has green upper parts, with the male being more vibrant. The males also have a shiny red throat and crown. They have a distinct buzz/hum sound. It typically starts off with a buzz, then goes to a whistle, and ends in a chirp, although this can vary. During courtship dives, males can make a chirping sound using their tail feathers.

Learning Bird Songs

Each time you go for a walk, or a bike ride, or are out in your garden, try learning one new bird call. It’s easiest to start with one or two and practice recognizing those, then slowly add a few more. It takes a while to train your ears, but once you have the melody in your head, you’ll hear it everywhere!

Bird songs will change throughout the year as species come and go from SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island. Winter is a lot quieter than the summer. Your friend, the northern yellow warbler, may spend the warm summer on the island, but she will head down south for the chilly months of the year. On the shoreline, however, it gets quite a bit busier as seabirds return for winter feeding. For example, surf scoters spend their winters along the coast of BC, and have a shorter migration to inland Canada for the summer to breed on lakes. Many bird species return to the same area, year after year, so you may see the same Northern Yellow Warbler again next year!

If you are looking to learn more about identifying birds by sound, download the app Merlin! It is an excellent tool for learning your bird songs and calls. It can help with bird sound identification around you, but be aware that it is not always accurate. When identifying birds, it is always best to have visual ID as well as sound ID.

Every walk has its own soundtrack. The more time you spend listening, the more individual voices begin to emerge from what once sounded like background noise. Before long, you’ll find yourself recognizing the sounds of feathered neighbours before you even see them.

What You Can Do: Creating Healthy Songbird Habitat

How can you help create healthy habitat for songbirds on your property on SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island?

1. Opt for native plants in your yard and garden

Planting native species provides food, shelter and nesting habitat for songbirds. Species such as red elderberry, saskatoon berry and salmonberry are enjoyed by songbirds.

2. Conserve wetland areas

Wetland areas on SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island are much rarer than they once were. Conserving and restoring these areas provides critical habitat for many songbirds.

3. Put up nesting boxes

Nesting boxes give cavity nesting birds increased habitat for raising their young. If an area lacks large trees, there may be minimal opportunities for these birds to find a nesting site. Cavity nesters on SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island include northern flickers, pileated woodpeckers and chestnut-backed chickadees.   

The Mayne Island Conservancy has a free landholder consultation program. If you are interested in learning more about the species and ecosystems on your property, and how you can support natural habitats, check out this article. A Conservancy staff member will come and walk your property with you, and give advice on native species to plant, habitat restoration, invasive species management and species identification. They can help give advice on what kind of birds may be in the area, and how you can help support and restore their habitat.