Re: [nfc-l] help with a mystery call from a few years back

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

Sure sounds like House Sparrows (at least through my phone). Maybe something 
disturbed their roost?

Ken

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 22, 2013, at 6:48 PM, "Andy Martin" 
mailto:apmart...@gmail.com>> wrote:

Every once in a while I go back through my mystery call file to see if (with a 
little more experience gained), I can ID one or two more.

The attached call has bugged me for some time. Sounds a bit finchy to me, but 
time of night (12:30 AM) doesn't coincide with predawn movement. Only finch 
possibility left around my house in May would most likely be House (outside 
chance at a Purple). House sparrow possibly? First time I heard it, cadence 
struck me as shorebird, but I have never been able to match it to a particular 
species. I am stumped.

Thanks for any help.

Andy Martin
Gaithersburg, MD
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Re: [nfc-l] Night Flight - Upstate NY

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

Between 10:45 and 11 PM, I heard 3 distinct GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSHES over Ithaca, 
NY -- seems a bit late for them but clearly they are still migrating out of the 
Northeast U.S. Also a few Savannah Sparrows and a "Dendroica" warbler.

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu

On Oct 8, 2012, at 10:51 PM, Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes wrote:

There's a pretty constant stream of Sparrows and Warblers tonight over Etna, NY.

Good luck to anyone else listening in this area!

Sincerely,
Chris T-H

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159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850
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Re: [nfc-l] head-scratcher

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

I was thinking Saw-whet Owl (which are migrating big time now in northeastern 
U.S.). I've never heard a Barn Owl do quite that call, but certainly 
possible

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu

On Oct 2, 2012, at 1:02 AM, Magnus Robb wrote:

My money is on Barn Owl.

Magnus Robb


On 2 Oct 2012, at 0:27:30, Ethan Duke wrote:

Greetings,
Ever reluctant to post unknowns, but one is really odd Recorded at 02:07 hrs 
last night (30 Sept - 1 Oct). Any ideas?

Ethan


Ethan C. Duke, Assistant Director
Missouri River Bird Observatory
website: www.mrbo.org
blog: http://mrbohappenings.blogspot.com/
facebook: 
www.facebook.com/pages/Missouri-River-Bird-Observatory
660.886.8788

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Re: [nfc-l] migrating cuckoos

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

Hi all,

I just heard a YELLOW-BILLED CI|UCKOO high over my house at 10:50 this evening 
-- giving the long "K'OW K'OW" call series.

thanks for all the info and anecdotes on mid-summer calling in cuckoos, I am 
aware of the odd mid-summer calling and I have heard (mostly BBCU} on warm 
summer nights. I also hear a scattering of calls from both cuckoos, along with 
few thrushes and other migrants) consistently through the first week of June. 
The birds I heard were high in the sky and appeared to be moving (but it is 
certainly possible that I m wrong.

KEN.


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu

On Jun 7, 2012, at 5:57 AM, Bill Evans wrote:

There’s a delightful old paper by Gerald Thayer describing "the mid-summer, 
mid-night, mid-sky gyrations of the Black-billed Cuckoo, as noted by my father 
and me for three consecutive seasons in the southwestern corner of New 
Hampshire":

”Several years before we discovered the nocturnal-flight phenomenon, we began 
to be puzzled by the extreme frequency of Cuckoo calls on summer nights. 
***They uttered both the cow-row notes and the rolling guttural call; but the 
guttural was much the commoner of the two, except on dark, foggy nights, when 
the case was usually reversed. ***The birds were often so far up as to be only 
faintly audible when directly overhead, with no obstructions interposed; and 
this on a still night would seem to mean an elevation of at least a hundred and 
fifty yards. They sometimes flew lower, however, and on cloudy nights often 
moved about barely above the tree-tops.”
“On the evening of July 11-a pitch-dark evening with a thundershower 
lowering,-they were remarkably noisy, both sitting in trees and flying high in 
air. The seated ones, of which I heard only two, made the Cowcow notes, while 
all the flying ones made the liquid gurgle. I heard this note overhead between 
thirty and forty times in the course of about three hours, during half of which 
time I was afoot on the road.”

-- Thayer, G. H. 1903. The Mystery of the Black-billed Cuckoo. Bird Lore 
5:143-145.

In a big nocturnal flight I heard moving up the St. Croix River (MN/WI) in late 
May of 1985, I estimated a rate of passage of Black-billed Cuckoos in the range 
of 100 per hour for at least a few hours in the middle of the night. This was 
not a call total but a rate of vocal birds estimated by following multiple 
calls from apparently the same individual, and it was clear that these birds 
were migrants heading northbound. In 1988-1990 I began recording nocturnal 
flight calls each fall migration period in early July around Ithaca, NY and was 
surprised that in each season the highest rate of BBCU calling was in July 
through early August. There seemed to be a lot of variability in the number of 
calls I recorded between proximal nights, which could be a function of 
weather/wind and microphone pickup dynamics or that the birds tended to prefer 
some nights over others. In the big passerine push from mid –August through 
mid-September across central NY, BBCU flight calls are less common than one 
might expect. Using a Sennheiser shotgun mic back in those days, my rates of 
BBCU nocturnal flight call detection in the latter half of August were in the 
1-2 per hour range (averaged over whole night). In the first half of September 
rates dropped to the range of one call every four hours. Whereas in July 
through early August it was common to record sustained rate through the night 
of 4-5 per hour. But as I mentioned there was a lot of variability from night 
to night.

I haven’t recorded much in June in central NY, but my impression has been that 
the breeding ground flight calling,  the “mid-summer, mid-night, mid-sky, 
gyrations”,  is a phenomenon that increases in July.

Bill E



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[nfc-l] migrating cuckoos

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

I was surprised to step out in my driveway (Ithaca NY) this evening and hear 4 
BLACK-BILLED CUCKOOS in 15 minutes (3 in the first 5 minutes). Maybe caught the 
tail end of a migration burst, but at least some mysterious migrants are 
continuing to move at night.

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu


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Re: [nfc-l] Help with NFC

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

Hi all,

2 years ago, on 25 May (about 12:45 AM), I heard (with my "naked ear" no 
recorder) an Alder Flycatcher giving its full song Fee-BEE-o several times as 
it migrated over my house in Ithaca, NY. I've heard other flycatchers giving 
full songs overhead in spring, but have not heard them giving specific flight 
calls.

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu

On May 24, 2012, at 4:35 PM, Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes wrote:

Hi Nathan and fellow NFCers,

For fun, here's that single one minute song sequence of a passing Alder 
Flycatcher over Etna, NY on the night of 21-22 May from about 01:58-01:59. The 
clip has been converted to MP3 and is only 8bits, but you still get that 
doppler shift effect as the bird passes over. Apologies for the truck noise; 
that's from the Route 13 highway, 1/2 mile away.



On May 24, 2012, at 1:54 PM, Nathan DeBruine wrote:

That is quite a few ALFLs. I found this one by hand browsing too. Your clip 
definitely sounds much more like their typical call, easy to distinguish.

Nathan

Sent from my iPod

On May 24, 2012, at 1:34 PM, "Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes" 
mailto:c...@cornell.edu>> wrote:

You bet, Nathan!

I've been kind of surprised by this, too.

This year, I recorded Alder Flycatcher songs/calls at the following times:

15 May - 23:30
16 May - 00:33
18 May - 23:10
19 May - 04:13
20 May - 01:44
21 May - 01:38
22 May - 01:58-01:59 (sequence, neat doppler)
22 May - 03:04
23 May - 00:59

Keep in mind, I've been hand browsing the sounds. Anyone else out there doing 
hand browsing?

Attached is one of the nicer clips.

Sincerely,
Chris T-H

On May 24, 2012, at 1:01 PM, Nathan DeBruine wrote:

Chris,

Thanks for your help and quick response. My first impression was also Alder 
Flycatcher, just didn't realize they were heard that often during nocturnal 
migration.

Thanks again,
Nathan

On Thu, May 24, 2012 at 12:47 PM, Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes 
mailto:c...@cornell.edu>> wrote:

Hi Nathan,



Sounds very close to Alder Flycatcher to me. I�ve recorded a handful of Alder 
Flycatchers in the past few nights, usually repeating their call constantly as 
they fly over, or repeat their �pip� calls leading up to the �re-eeer� call.



Sincerely,
Chris T-H



--

Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes

TARU Product Line Manager and Field Applications Engineer

Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850

W: 607-254-2418   M: 607-351-5740   F: 
607-254-1132

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp





From: 
bounce-59473068-9327...@list.cornell.edu
 
[mailto:bounce-59473068-9327...@list.cornell.edu]
 On Behalf Of Nathan DeBruine
Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2012 12:29 PM
To: NFC-L
Subject: [nfc-l] Help with NFC



I am new to this list (and quite new to nocturnal flight call recording), but 
am interested to get input on this NFC I recorded this morning, 24 May, at 3:25 
AM. It sounds too exaggerated to me for Gray-cheeked Thrush, and reminds me of 
Alder Flycatcher. Would really appreciate hearing other opinions. The sound 
should be attached.



Thanks,

Nathan DeBruine

Grand Rapids, MI

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Chris

Re: [nfc-l] Night Migrating Raptors

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

I would suspect that the nocturnal movements by raptors will turn out to be 
primarily over water -- where the total flight range involved necessitates a 
partly nocturnal crossing. Are there any other night-time records from the Gulf 
oil platform work a while back? Satellite tracking data may shed some light (or 
darkness) as well.

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu

On Mar 1, 2012, at 10:24 PM, Benjamin Van Doren wrote:

Awesome pictures, Chris. Michael, I recorded a calling Osprey on 4/16/11 at 
about midnight. However, I'm not completely convinced it's of an overflying 
migrant because it sounds relatively close to the microphone and there are 
nesting Ospreys close by. Still, it's the only Osprey vocalization I've found 
from that microphone (again, with nesting Ospreys very near) so I'm not exactly 
sure what to make of it. Does anyone know about the amount of vocalizing 
territorial Ospreys do at night? I've attached the recording.

Benjamin

On Thu, Mar 1, 2012 at 9:26 PM, Michael O'Brien 
mailto:tsw...@comcast.net>> wrote:
Chris,

Those photos are amazing! And they brings up an interesting general question 
about nocturnal migration by raptors. How much do they move at night? In Cape 
May I see plenty of evidence of at least limited nocturnal movement. We 
regularly see American Kestrels, Sharp-shinned Hawks, and Northern Harriers 
present in numbers (sometimes already high overhead) at first light when they 
were not present the day before. Also I have seen Osprey and Peregrine head out 
in apparent migration flight over Delaware Bay well after sunset. But the only 
nocturnal flight call I have heard from a raptor was from an Osprey which gave 
acouple of "tew" calls overhead a good two hours before sunrise. I wonder if 
others have seen or heard evidence of nocturnal migration by raptors.

thanks,
Michael

Michael O'Brien
Victor Emanuel Nature Tours
www.ventbird.com

From: "Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes" 
mailto:c...@cornell.edu>>
To: "NFC-L" mailto:nf...@list.cornell.edu>>
Sent: Thursday, March 1, 2012 4:01:22 PM
Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Night Migrating Raptors


Below is a link of a few pictures I managed to capture of a couple of the 
individuals. Unfortunately, due to our operations, I was not able to take time 
for extensive documentation. It was a very neat spectacle to have witnessed. 
Some details are at right of the album at the link, below.

https://picasaweb.google.com/112522159565855378380/NightMigratingRaptors

Sincerely,
Chris T-H
Currently at sea in the Gulf of Mexico, aboard the M/V Emily Bordelon.



On Mar 1, 2012, at 4:41 AM, Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes wrote:

Although these birds weren’t making vocalizations, but it has been really cool 
to witness.

I’m on the M/V Emily Bordelon about 150 miles WNW of Tampa, FL, working on 
recovering oceanographic research instruments. We’re conducting 24-hour 
operations with deck lights blazing. from approximately 07:10 to 07:25 GMT 
(02:10 to 02:25 AM EST) the deck crew and I observed at least three 
simultaneous SWALLOW-TAILED KITES, 1 Laughing Gull, and a single OSPREY 
approach the vessel during an extended full-stop drifts. This was at about N28 
26.491 by W85 27.459. I managed to get some half-decent photos of the Kites as 
they drifted over the vessel.

At another point, from approximately 08:40 to 09:20 GMT (02:40 to 03:20 AM EST) 
we were visited by at least two more night migrating SWALLOW-TAILED KITES. I 
did not obtain photos of those birds. This was at about N28 17.256 by W85 
32.837.

I imagine there are several birds in migration across the Eastern Gulf of 
Mexico at this point and we should expect to have more observations at the next 
couple of nighttime stations.

Good birding!

Sincerely,
Chris T-H

--
Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes
TARU Product Line Manager and Field Applications Engineer
Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850
W: 607-254-2418   M: 607-351-5740   F: 
607-254-1132
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp


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Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes
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Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850
W: 607-254-2418   M: 607-351-5740

Re: [nfc-l] Night Migrating Raptors

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

Chris, this is very cool! I'm sure there is a publishable note there.


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu

On Mar 1, 2012, at 4:01 PM, Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes wrote:

Below is a link of a few pictures I managed to capture of a couple of the 
individuals. Unfortunately, due to our operations, I was not able to take time 
for extensive documentation. It was a very neat spectacle to have witnessed. 
Some details are at right of the album at the link, below.

https://picasaweb.google.com/112522159565855378380/NightMigratingRaptors

Sincerely,
Chris T-H
Currently at sea in the Gulf of Mexico, aboard the M/V Emily Bordelon.



On Mar 1, 2012, at 4:41 AM, Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes wrote:

Although these birds weren’t making vocalizations, but it has been really cool 
to witness.

I’m on the M/V Emily Bordelon about 150 miles WNW of Tampa, FL, working on 
recovering oceanographic research instruments. We’re conducting 24-hour 
operations with deck lights blazing. from approximately 07:10 to 07:25 GMT 
(02:10 to 02:25 AM EST) the deck crew and I observed at least three 
simultaneous SWALLOW-TAILED KITES, 1 Laughing Gull, and a single OSPREY 
approach the vessel during an extended full-stop drifts. This was at about N28 
26.491 by W85 27.459. I managed to get some half-decent photos of the Kites as 
they drifted over the vessel.

At another point, from approximately 08:40 to 09:20 GMT (02:40 to 03:20 AM EST) 
we were visited by at least two more night migrating SWALLOW-TAILED KITES. I 
did not obtain photos of those birds. This was at about N28 17.256 by W85 
32.837.

I imagine there are several birds in migration across the Eastern Gulf of 
Mexico at this point and we should expect to have more observations at the next 
couple of nighttime stations.

Good birding!

Sincerely,
Chris T-H

--
Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes
TARU Product Line Manager and Field Applications Engineer
Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850
W: 607-254-2418   M: 607-351-5740   F: 607-254-1132
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp


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Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850
W: 607-254-2418   M: 607-351-5740   F: 607-254-1132
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp

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Re: [nfc-l] First night flight of 2012?

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

Hi all,

The topic of night-time roosting is a bit different from migration, but could 
potentially prove to be another interesting application of NFC research -- if 
birds potentially call, say in the pre-dawn, while exiting roosts. I think this 
is one of the least known aspect of bird biology. For example, probably many 
more species than people think roost communally at night and may fly long 
distances to safe roost sites. One of the weirdest tidbits I learned was from 
researchers studying Bicknell's Thrushes wintering in the Dominican Republic -- 
several radio-tagged individuals flew out from their highly threatened montane 
forest daytime habitats to roost at night in isolated trees out in cattle 
pastures. I believe several even roosted in the same tree. It's all about 
safety from predators, of course.

So continued listening and recording at night may reveal more than just 
migration.

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu

On Feb 8, 2012, at 4:40 PM, Timothy Spahr wrote:

> 
> 
> Hi everyone,
> 
> I've been following this thread with some interest.  A couple of anecdotes to
> add some more color on this already interesting story!:
> 
> 1)  I had a mob of Fox Sparrows here (central MA) a few winters ago
> in February, up to 8 at a time, under my feeder.  In the evening, they'd 
> ascend
> to the tops of the trees, calling loudly and acting like they
> were set to migrate, and all fly off to the north.  The next
> morning they would be back here.  So question number 1 is how
> far, really, do birds roost from routine feeding sites?
> 
> 2)  When conducting woodpecker surveys in the Apalachicola region
> in the early 2000s, I would notice Pileated Woodpeckers making
> long flights over the treetops, or over simply open areas,
> apparently between food sources.  In one instance I watched a pair
> of PIWOs fly over 2 km from forest patch to forest patch.
> Why would they do this?  Especially when they could drill a hole
> near the food source and sleep there.
> 
> Both of these instances suggested to me, at least naively,
> that these birds might move around far more than we expect.
> Perhaps some other list members might have anecdotes to support
> Seth's contention about mobility?
> 
> 
> Best,
> 
> Tim Spahr
> 
> 
> 
> On Wed, 8 Feb 2012, Steve Kelling wrote:
> 
>> I think birds move around at night year-round. For example in Jan and Feb,
>> I record the flight calls of Snow Buntings during the pre-dawn (0430-0700)
>> of many mornings. Last winter I recorded Common Redpolls also in the
>> pre-dawn.  I occasionally will record American Robins at this time. I
>> seldom (never Snow Buntings) get these birds on the ground during my daily
>> dawn eBird counts.
>> 
>> Steve Kelling
>> 
> 
> (the rest snipped out)


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Re: [nfc-l] First night flight of 2012?

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

Ithaca, NY had it's first Killdeer of the year yesterday, so a few birds are 
likely moving (but north with the mild weather, or south with the arriving cold 
snap??)

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu

On Feb 8, 2012, at 1:50 PM, Michael O'Brien wrote:

Andrew,

It should not be a big surprise to hear a single nocturnal migrant Killdeer at 
this time of year in Pennsylvania. Spring migrants begin moving in February, 
and "fall" migrants will sometimes move any time in winter if they get pushed 
out of northern areas by cold weather or snow. This has been a mild winter, so 
there were likely more Killdeers lingering at northern latitudes than usual. 
Still, it's really cool to hear a nocturnal migrant in mid-winter, and great to 
document it!

best wishes,
Michael

Michael O'Brien
Victor Emanuel Nature Tours
www.ventbird.com

From: "Andrew Albright" 
mailto:andrew.albri...@gmail.com>>
To: "nfc-l" mailto:nfc-l@cornell.edu>>
Sent: Tuesday, February 7, 2012 10:13:54 PM
Subject: [nfc-l] First night flight of 2012?

I just got back from running (more than 3 hours after nightfall) and I
heard a Killdeer fly overhead!

I'm in southeastern PA and this is very rare bird in the winter for
this county.  Sodoes this count as a night flight?  What in the
world is this bird doing?

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Re: [nfc-l] NFC protocol in eBird

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

Thanks Marshall and to all of eBird!  This is terrific -- can't wait to enter 
(or edit :)) all my nfc data.

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu

On Oct 24, 2011, at 5:12 PM, Marshall Iliff wrote:

NFCers,

Earlier this fall we had a discussion about how best to enter NFC counts in 
eBird. Finally, we have a good answer for you!

After much discussion, just today we added a NFC protocol to eBird. The idea 
for this is to be sure to tag NFC counts so they can be easily extracted from 
the data as well as to treat those a bit differently in eBird output to avoid 
skewing the data. While we don't expect floods of NFC counts, we do hope that 
some people will submit nightly counts, or even hourly counts. If these types 
of counts were submitted however, large volumes could certainly skew the eBird 
output that more typically represents diurnal counts.

To find this protocol, you can select it from the drop-down menu in step 2 
(date and effort) of data entry. Since there are many caveats, we ask that 
everyone reads and understands the protocol in detail. 
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/about/nfc-count-protocol

There are a few important points in this, including:

- You must report all species when using this protocol, but please select "not 
reporting all species". This is a bit of a roundabout way to make sure that we 
aren't comparing apples with oranges in eBird output.

- We encourage the use of 'x' in cases where there is moderate to high 
uncertainty in the counts, but we allow exact counts. We also encourage call 
counts being submitted in the species comments. We hope that this acknowledges 
the debate and issues with counting birds in nocturnal migration and still 
allows for the data to be of use.

- Note also the comments on the date and the definition of night

- This protocol is not to be used for automatic detectors.

Thanks to everyone on this forum for discussions that have helped us refine 
this and implement it. Let me know if you have questions or comments. And by 
all means, feel free to revise your past NFC counts to this protocol (pulling 
up all your Gray-cheeked records might be a good start, since so many are 
detected by flight call).

Best,

Marshall Iliff
eBird Project Leader


--

Marshall J. Iliff
miliff AT aol.com
West Roxbury, MA

eBird/AKN Project Leader
www.ebird.org
www.avianknowledge.net
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Ithaca, NY

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Re: [nfc-l] Hermit Thrush flight calls on ground

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

Man, we're old!

Although the CDRom is the way to go for learning and studying, it was Bill's 
careful narrative and logic that helped to solidify these calls in your brain. 
Look for this ancient medium on eBay.

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu<mailto:k...@cornell.edu>

On Oct 12, 2011, at 12:48 PM, Bill Evans wrote:

As a reflection on Steve Jobs passing, I posted the cover of the "Nocturnal 
Flight Calls of Migrating Thrushes" cassette tape to the Facebook nocturnal 
flight calls group last week. The pic, included here, was made in Minneapolis 
on a friend's Apple MacIntosh Plus computer in 1986. The "thrush tape" was 
completed in 1989 and offered to birders via the the classified adds of ABA's 
"Winging It" bulletin in early 1990. As I recall, the tape sold for $15 and 
over 400 were produced. Most of the tracks were duplicated on the Flight Calls 
CDRom.  ~Bill E


 
----- Original Message -
From: Kenneth Victor Rosenberg<mailto:k...@cornell.edu>
To: Jeff Wells<mailto:jwe...@intlboreal.org>
Cc: NFC-L<mailto:nf...@list.cornell.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 10:21 AM
Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Hermit Thrush flight calls on ground

I wonder if Bill Evans could re-release the "thrush-tape" that Jeff is 
referring to on CD (or podcast?) -- that is still probably the best primer for 
learning the basic thrushes, and  lot of us got started with that tape!

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu<mailto:k...@cornell.edu>

On Oct 12, 2011, at 9:38 AM, Jeff Wells wrote:

Yes, and remember Bill's classic thrush tape in which he had, if I am 
remembering correctly, both Wood Thrush and Bicknell's Thrush singing on the 
breeding grounds and interspersing the flight calls in the song? That was such 
a great tape!

Last year when I was in northern Quebec I had Gray-cheeked doing this as well 
but I could never record it.

Fun stuff!

Jeff

Jeff Wells
International Boreal Conservation Campaign
Boreal Songbird Initiative


On Oct 11, 2011, at 9:46 PM, "Kenneth Victor Rosenberg" 
mailto:k...@cornell.edu>> wrote:

Jeff et al.

I have fairly frequently heard Hermit Thrush giving it's nfc on the ground at 
first light -- especially in early winter, often interspersed with "chuck" 
notes just as you describe. I have also heard both Swainson's and Wood Thrush 
giving what sounds like the nfc interspersed with song. I believe that this is 
one of the ways that Bill Evans first figured out all the thrush calls -- by 
matching them to calls heard in various contexts during the day and visually 
confirmed.

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
<mailto:k...@cornell.edu>k...@cornell.edu<mailto:k...@cornell.edu>

On Oct 11, 2011, at 5:09 PM, Jeff Wells wrote:

Yesterday morning  I was out in my suburban yard in south-central Maine 
watching a nice morning flight of birds moving over and through when I began 
hearing the “chuck” call of a Hermit Thrush from the neighbor’s backyard. Soon 
it began alternating between the “chuck” call and the drawn-out “whee” 
nocturnal flight call. I went inside to get my camera to record it (my 
recording gear was packed away) and by then it had flown up across the street 
into the top of a tree. At that point it began just doing the flight call with 
no more of the “chuck” call and then it moved to another taller tree 100 yards 
away where it stayed and continued doing the call for a bit before suddenly 
stopping. It may have flown away or it may have just stopped calling and 
dropped down somewhere nearby but I never saw or heard it again.
I was able to get some of the calls on some video clips, one of which I posted 
up on my YouTube channel for anyone interested. I think I have some recordings 
of Hermit Thrushes interspersing the nocturnal call into songs during the 
breeding season and I know I have a recording of a Swainson’s Thrush doing that.
Anyway, you can hear the calls on the video titled “Hermit Thrush giving 
nocturnal flight call” at: <http://www.youtube.com/birdconservation> 
http://www.youtube.com/birdconservation
Interestingly, the second call it gives on the video is much burrier than what 
I think of as normal and some of the calls seem a bit shorter than what I am 
used to hearing at night.
Jeff Wells
Gardiner, Maine
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Re: [nfc-l] Hermit Thrush flight calls on ground

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

they do have short, harmonic, call notes given while perched (at least some 
species I am familiar with) -- whether these are ever given in flight I do not 
know. And then there is the possibility of elevational or short-distance 
migrations or movements in some species. Plus, a number of South American 
Turdus are migratory (Austral migrants) -- I wonder if there are flight notes 
known for these species?

fascinating questions!

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu<mailto:k...@cornell.edu>

On Oct 12, 2011, at 10:49 AM, Jesse Ellis wrote:

Seems like all the North American Catharus do this, no? I'm pretty sure I've 
heard Veery doing flight calls on the ground as well. An interesting question, 
then, would be whether Central and S. American Catharus have such calls

On Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 9:21 AM, Kenneth Victor Rosenberg 
mailto:k...@cornell.edu>> wrote:
I wonder if Bill Evans could re-release the "thrush-tape" that Jeff is 
referring to on CD (or podcast?) -- that is still probably the best primer for 
learning the basic thrushes, and  lot of us got started with that tape!

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu<mailto:k...@cornell.edu>

On Oct 12, 2011, at 9:38 AM, Jeff Wells wrote:

Yes, and remember Bill's classic thrush tape in which he had, if I am 
remembering correctly, both Wood Thrush and Bicknell's Thrush singing on the 
breeding grounds and interspersing the flight calls in the song? That was such 
a great tape!

Last year when I was in northern Quebec I had Gray-cheeked doing this as well 
but I could never record it.

Fun stuff!

Jeff

Jeff Wells
International Boreal Conservation Campaign
Boreal Songbird Initiative


On Oct 11, 2011, at 9:46 PM, "Kenneth Victor Rosenberg" 
mailto:k...@cornell.edu>> wrote:

Jeff et al.

I have fairly frequently heard Hermit Thrush giving it's nfc on the ground at 
first light -- especially in early winter, often interspersed with "chuck" 
notes just as you describe. I have also heard both Swainson's and Wood Thrush 
giving what sounds like the nfc interspersed with song. I believe that this is 
one of the ways that Bill Evans first figured out all the thrush calls -- by 
matching them to calls heard in various contexts during the day and visually 
confirmed.

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
<mailto:k...@cornell.edu>k...@cornell.edu<mailto:k...@cornell.edu>

On Oct 11, 2011, at 5:09 PM, Jeff Wells wrote:

Yesterday morning  I was out in my suburban yard in south-central Maine 
watching a nice morning flight of birds moving over and through when I began 
hearing the “chuck” call of a Hermit Thrush from the neighbor’s backyard. Soon 
it began alternating between the “chuck” call and the drawn-out “whee” 
nocturnal flight call. I went inside to get my camera to record it (my 
recording gear was packed away) and by then it had flown up across the street 
into the top of a tree. At that point it began just doing the flight call with 
no more of the “chuck” call and then it moved to another taller tree 100 yards 
away where it stayed and continued doing the call for a bit before suddenly 
stopping. It may have flown away or it may have just stopped calling and 
dropped down somewhere nearby but I never saw or heard it again.

I was able to get some of the calls on some video clips, one of which I posted 
up on my YouTube channel for anyone interested. I think I have some recordings 
of Hermit Thrushes interspersing the nocturnal call into songs during the 
breeding season and I know I have a recording of a Swainson’s Thrush doing that.

Anyway, you can hear the calls on the video titled “Hermit Thrush giving 
nocturnal flight call” at: <http://www.youtube.com/birdconservation> 
http://www.youtube.com/birdconservation

Interestingly, the second call it gives on the video is much burrier than what 
I think of as normal and some of the calls seem a bit shorter than what I am 
used to hearing at night.

Jeff Wells
Gardiner, Maine
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Re: [nfc-l] Hermit Thrush flight calls on ground

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

I wonder if Bill Evans could re-release the "thrush-tape" that Jeff is 
referring to on CD (or podcast?) -- that is still probably the best primer for 
learning the basic thrushes, and  lot of us got started with that tape!

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu<mailto:k...@cornell.edu>

On Oct 12, 2011, at 9:38 AM, Jeff Wells wrote:

Yes, and remember Bill's classic thrush tape in which he had, if I am 
remembering correctly, both Wood Thrush and Bicknell's Thrush singing on the 
breeding grounds and interspersing the flight calls in the song? That was such 
a great tape!

Last year when I was in northern Quebec I had Gray-cheeked doing this as well 
but I could never record it.

Fun stuff!

Jeff

Jeff Wells
International Boreal Conservation Campaign
Boreal Songbird Initiative


On Oct 11, 2011, at 9:46 PM, "Kenneth Victor Rosenberg" 
mailto:k...@cornell.edu>> wrote:

Jeff et al.

I have fairly frequently heard Hermit Thrush giving it's nfc on the ground at 
first light -- especially in early winter, often interspersed with "chuck" 
notes just as you describe. I have also heard both Swainson's and Wood Thrush 
giving what sounds like the nfc interspersed with song. I believe that this is 
one of the ways that Bill Evans first figured out all the thrush calls -- by 
matching them to calls heard in various contexts during the day and visually 
confirmed.

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
<mailto:k...@cornell.edu>k...@cornell.edu<mailto:k...@cornell.edu>

On Oct 11, 2011, at 5:09 PM, Jeff Wells wrote:

Yesterday morning  I was out in my suburban yard in south-central Maine 
watching a nice morning flight of birds moving over and through when I began 
hearing the “chuck” call of a Hermit Thrush from the neighbor’s backyard. Soon 
it began alternating between the “chuck” call and the drawn-out “whee” 
nocturnal flight call. I went inside to get my camera to record it (my 
recording gear was packed away) and by then it had flown up across the street 
into the top of a tree. At that point it began just doing the flight call with 
no more of the “chuck” call and then it moved to another taller tree 100 yards 
away where it stayed and continued doing the call for a bit before suddenly 
stopping. It may have flown away or it may have just stopped calling and 
dropped down somewhere nearby but I never saw or heard it again.

I was able to get some of the calls on some video clips, one of which I posted 
up on my YouTube channel for anyone interested. I think I have some recordings 
of Hermit Thrushes interspersing the nocturnal call into songs during the 
breeding season and I know I have a recording of a Swainson’s Thrush doing that.

Anyway, you can hear the calls on the video titled “Hermit Thrush giving 
nocturnal flight call” at: <http://www.youtube.com/birdconservation> 
http://www.youtube.com/birdconservation

Interestingly, the second call it gives on the video is much burrier than what 
I think of as normal and some of the calls seem a bit shorter than what I am 
used to hearing at night.

Jeff Wells
Gardiner, Maine
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Re: [nfc-l] Hermit Thrush flight calls on ground

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

Jeff et al.

I have fairly frequently heard Hermit Thrush giving it's nfc on the ground at 
first light -- especially in early winter, often interspersed with "chuck" 
notes just as you describe. I have also heard both Swainson's and Wood Thrush 
giving what sounds like the nfc interspersed with song. I believe that this is 
one of the ways that Bill Evans first figured out all the thrush calls -- by 
matching them to calls heard in various contexts during the day and visually 
confirmed.

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu

On Oct 11, 2011, at 5:09 PM, Jeff Wells wrote:

Yesterday morning  I was out in my suburban yard in south-central Maine 
watching a nice morning flight of birds moving over and through when I began 
hearing the “chuck” call of a Hermit Thrush from the neighbor’s backyard. Soon 
it began alternating between the “chuck” call and the drawn-out “whee” 
nocturnal flight call. I went inside to get my camera to record it (my 
recording gear was packed away) and by then it had flown up across the street 
into the top of a tree. At that point it began just doing the flight call with 
no more of the “chuck” call and then it moved to another taller tree 100 yards 
away where it stayed and continued doing the call for a bit before suddenly 
stopping. It may have flown away or it may have just stopped calling and 
dropped down somewhere nearby but I never saw or heard it again.

I was able to get some of the calls on some video clips, one of which I posted 
up on my YouTube channel for anyone interested. I think I have some recordings 
of Hermit Thrushes interspersing the nocturnal call into songs during the 
breeding season and I know I have a recording of a Swainson’s Thrush doing that.

Anyway, you can hear the calls on the video titled “Hermit Thrush giving 
nocturnal flight call” at: http://www.youtube.com/birdconservation

Interestingly, the second call it gives on the video is much burrier than what 
I think of as normal and some of the calls seem a bit shorter than what I am 
used to hearing at night.

Jeff Wells
Gardiner, Maine
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Re: [nfc-l] Night calls 9/24/2011

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

I also just finished listening for 30 minutes at Ithaca -- 11:15-11:45

counted 138 "thrush calls, nearly all of which sounded like SWAINSON'S THRUSH. 
Only 4 GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH tonight, and no Wood Thrush. Some calls were 
probably ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, and a couple had a strange "poink" quality 
that might be Scarlet Tanager?  Only about 20 warbler spp. only one of which 
sounded like a Black-throated Blue (but not doubled).

Last night around the same time, I heard 45 "thrush" calls in 15 minutes before 
the light drizzle became too steady -- more than half of those were 
GRAY-CHEEKED. So a different composition of birds each night, and they seem to 
be taking advantage of the light and variable winds to migrate every night.

KEN

Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu

On Sep 24, 2011, at 11:47 PM, david nicosia wrote:

Listened for one hour this evening

1040 pm to 1140 pm...the flight appears high as skies are clear,
winds light southwesterly. Not ideal. Many calls very high up
and inaudible. But have had some nice fairly low GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH
and SWAINSONS THRUSH calls.

Numbers are as follows:

SWAINSON'S THRUSH   48
GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH   10
WOOD THRUSH  12
HERMIT THRUSH  8
THRUSH sp. 21

Also had one INDIGO BUNTING and what I think
was a PALM WARBLER.


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Re: [nfc-l] another large flight over Ithaca

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

The flight continues over Ithaca, albeit in lower densities, or at least higher 
altitude and fainter calls as the low overcast clears off. My second 30 minute 
count yielded 220 "thrush" calls, nearly all SWAINSON'S, with 12 GRAY-CHEEKED, 
and about 15 WOOD THRUSH. Very few warblers (only about 10), but I did hear the 
distinctive double "tsip-tsip" of a BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER.

now to sleep.

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu

On Sep 22, 2011, at 11:48 PM, Michael Lanzone wrote:

> I just came inside after listening for over an hour in Somerset, PA and 
> pretty much the same heavy calling here. Huge flight, sometimes at about 100 
> calls per minute. Many thrushes here, but unlike in Ithaca, I predominately 
> heard warblers and sparrows. Can't wait to look at the file in the am!
> 
> Best,
> Mike
> 
> Michael Lanzone
> mlanz...@gmail.com
> 
> 
> On Sep 22, 2011, at 11:23 PM, Kenneth Victor Rosenberg  
> wrote:
> 
>> Hi all,
>> 
>> Yet another massive flight over Ithaca tonight -- in fact one of the largest 
>> flight I can remember over my house. I did a 30 minute count BETWEEN 10:30 
>> AND 11, and it was almost too overwhelming for my "naked ear." I counted 390 
>> "thrush" calls, with often a layering of multiple calls on top of each other 
>> as wave after wave of thrushes passed over nearly continuously. A pretty 
>> careful count of 22 GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSHES, about 40 WOOD THRUSH, about 20 
>> calls inflected enough to be ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK (I'm never real 
>> confident with those), and only 2 that I'd call VEERY -- the rest were 
>> SWAINSON'S THRUSHES. Not as many warbler/sparrow notes as the other night, 
>> and interestingly almost none of the short "tsip" notes I was hearing then 
>> -- but rather more high, slightly buzzy "zeeep" notes I associate with Cape 
>> May Warbler. One long, high "ssep" was a good candidate for 
>> Grasshopper/Nelson's Sparrow.
>> 
>> That's about all I could do by ear -- disappointed to hear no cuckoos, 
>> herons, or shorebirds in the mix. Hopefully the recorders did a better job 
>> of documenting tonight's flight.
>> 
>> KEN
>> 
>> 
>> Ken Rosenberg
>> Conservation Science Program
>> Cornell Lab of Ornithology
>> 607-254-2412
>> 607-342-4594 (cell)
>> k...@cornell.edu
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> 
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>> 
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>> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html
>> 
>> Please submit your observations to eBird:
>> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
>> 
>> --
>> 


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Re: [nfc-l] big night flight tonight

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

Thanks Bill. I did hear a few typical "Lincoln's/Swamp sparrow" "dt"s but 
was not confident enough to report. If there were that few Black-throated 
Blues, I'm curious what most of the abrupt "tsip" notes might have been? There 
were certainly way fewer of what I would consider typical buzzy Dendroica-type 
"zeet" notes than what I'm used to hearing on most nights.

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu

On Sep 21, 2011, at 9:55 AM, Bill Evans wrote:

> Ken appears to have tuned into one of the biggest calling night of the season 
> so far in central NY.  The acoustic station at Alfred Station, NY logged its 
> season high number (988) of warbler and sparrow flight calls last night 
> between 8:30PM-5:30AM. Based on spectrographic analysis roughly 4 out of 100 
> were Common Yellowthroat, 2 out of 100 were Black-throated Blue, and 2 out of 
> 100 were Chestnut-sided. Also notably in the mix were good numbers of 
> presumed Lincoln's Sparrow calls.
> 
> Bill E
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> --
> 
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> 
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> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html
> 
> Please submit your observations to eBird:
> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
> 
> --


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Re: [nfc-l] Flight calling tonight in northeast US

[Kenneth Victor Rosenberg]

Hi again,

In regard to the previous discussion about entering nfc observations into 
eBird, I'd like to emphasize that what I suggested represent my own opinions as 
a birder and do not necessarily represent the views of the eBird program. Sorry 
for any confusion on that.

I'm sure there will be more on this topic sometime soon!

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu<mailto:k...@cornell.edu>

On Sep 17, 2011, at 10:01 PM, Kenneth Victor Rosenberg wrote:

Hi all,

There has been much discussion on this topic in the past, and although there 
has been interest in developing an NFC-specific protocol in eBird, I have not 
heard any specific progress on this. In the meantime, I enter my heard-only 
night flight calls just like I would enter any other birding checklist. NOTE 
that I do not use a recorder and am only referring to calls that I hear and 
(try to) identify from my yard or anywhere else. I record the effort (time) and 
enter as a regular stationary count. The time of day should flag these in the 
database if necessary. I enter my best estimate of number of individuals 
detected, just as I would during the day -- this is usually pretty easy to 
estimate except on very heavy calling nights (rare at my house). I say "yes" to 
"Are you submitting a complete checklist of the birds you were able to 
identify?" because that is a true statement -- I might put many calls into 
"warbler sp." even "passerine sp." but that's o.k. I DO put a comment that 
these are night flight calls identified by ear, but that is mostly for my own 
reference.

To me this is not any different from a diurnal hawkwatch or seawatch, where 
many individuals are obviously missed and many go unidentified -- or estimating 
the number of swallows passing overhead or calling Bobolinks coming over in 
morning flight, or almost any other kind of birding where we estimate numbers. 
The variation in people's birding habits and abilities is so great anyway, and 
to me it is far more important to record the what, where, and when in the eBird 
database, than to worry too much about protocols. The beauty of eBird is that 
there is so much data that the signals are very strong and these sorts of 
variations are usually swamped out. (I should also note that much of the 
analysis of eBird data so far has relied on frequency of occurrence 
(presence-absence), so recording an "X" is certainly better than not entering 
at all!)

Happy listening,

KEN


Ken Rosenberg
Conservation Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2412
607-342-4594 (cell)
k...@cornell.edu<mailto:k...@cornell.edu>

On Sep 17, 2011, at 7:32 PM, Michael O'Brien wrote:

Ted et al,

In heavy flights, usually record an x for each species and indicate the number 
of calls/minute in the comment field (for each species, if possible). Anyone 
with better ideas?

Best,
Michael

Michael O'Brien
Victor Emanuel Nature Tours
www.ventbird.com<http://www.ventbird.com/>

On Sep 17, 2011, at 7:07 PM, Ted Floyd mailto:tfl...@aba.org>> 
wrote:

Well! The most intriguing part of Benjamin's posting is surely the last line of 
the NFC-L sig file.

How DO you submit nocturnal flight call observations to eBird?

Best,
Ted





From: 
bounce-38049280-9667...@list.cornell.edu<mailto:bounce-38049280-9667...@list.cornell.edu>
 [mailto:bounce-38049280-9667...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Benjamin Van 
Doren
Sent: Thursday, September 15, 2011 9:15 PM
To: nfc-l
Subject: [nfc-l] Flight calling tonight in northeast US

Hi all,

Fairly good numbers of flight calls audible from SE NY as I type this (probably 
averaging a few per minute). Many Northern Parulas, some Chestnut-sided 
Warblers, American Redstart, poss. Tennessee, Veery, Swainson's Thrush, 
assorted "zeeps," etc., in several minutes of listening.

Benjamin Van Doren
White Plains, NY
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