field notes from 02/08/23

Birding by ear during mosquito season

Mosquito season is when my ear work has to carry the morning. You can’t stand still in a swamp in July, so you’re walking, and if you’re walking you’re not seeing songbirds; you’re hearing them. I’ve been using that pressure to review song pairs I mix up: Tennessee and Nashville Warblers in particular, and the three Empids I can’t separate by sight. It’s not as hopeless as it sounds if you accept that most of the IDs will be partial.