Did you know that there is now a Sound ID feature on the Merlin app that analyzes bird songs in real time and matches the species that produces that sound while they’re singing?

In the US, February is a month we associate with love and attraction. So, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss courting mechanisms in birds. In this case, bird songs.

It’s been difficult to get out birding as much as we’d like during the shut-down. That gives us a great opportunity to brush up on our birding skills and knowledge from the comfort of our homes.

While working in my garden the other day, I simply had to stop and listen to the chorus of birdsong coming from a nearby tree. In rapid succession, I heard the “peter, peter, peter” of a Tufted Titmouse, a Northern Cardinal’s “cheerily, cheer-up,” the “teakettle, teakettle” song of a Carolina Wren, and assorted chip notes that I couldn’t place – followed by what was unmistakably the ring of a cell phone.