54. An extreme blackbird challenge for you!
7. When to Sing, and How
Energized dawn singing
From page 120 in the book.
An extreme blackbird challenge for you! A year later, during 2018, I returned to the same territory and recorded a male red-wing there, on April 22 (♫495) and again on April 24 (♫496). Once again, I waited for him in the dark, and each morning I stayed with him, recording him through sunrise for about an hour (50 minutes the first morning, 67 the second). Questions abound! Is this male the same as the one I recorded during 2017 and offered some analysis about, above? If he is (based on his frenetic behavior, I bet he is!), the songs from the two years would be the same, as males do not change their songs appreciably from one year to the next. You can make sonagrams in Raven Lite for the two years and find the answer yourself, but don't confuse the weaker songs of the background bird (e.g., at 0:12 in ♫495) with those of your focal bird; choose only the louder songs as those of the focal male. How does this male's calling and singing program in 2018 compare to the program that I have analyzed above for 2017? What other questions cross your mind?
♫495: From the same territory as ♫328, just a year later; it's a late spring, with the marsh and entire lake still frozen over (hence the late start relative to sunrise?). 6:31-7:22 a.m. Sunriseat 6:41 a.m. April 22, 2018. Atlanta, Michigan (50:10)
♫496: Another 2018 dawn from the same territory. Sometimes he is near the microphone, other times more distant, making it a little difficult to follow him. 6:25-7:32 a.m. Sunrise at 6:37 a.m.. April 24, 2018. Atlanta, Michigan (1:07:00)