Song recording

[Caroline]

Does anyone know of an easy way to get recordings of bird songs.
Being new to birding I'm often hearing songs and calls that I can't identify and I'm beginning to get very frustrated by my lack of knowledge. I have a number of friends who could identify the songs for me if only I could get them to hear them :( .
Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks

[CLS]

CJ's do sell a tape that could help you. I think it says the name of the bird before you hear the song.

[Caroline]

I have something similar but it's often not the same as what you are hearing.
Then there is the frustration of hearing something and then not being able to find something similar on the disk (and after I've listened to 5 or 6 recordings I can't remember exactly what I had heard in the garden :( ).

[Emma]

Caroline, Alana Ecology have the kind of sound recording equipment that you are after - but it's not cheap. Google the name, and you will find them. That might at least act as a starting point for you.

[Caroline]

Well thanks for replying Emma but unfortunately that is waaaaay out of my price range.
I guess I'll just have to keep looking.

[Whitezombie]

there realy is no substitute for learning birdsong than out in the wild.

a tip for identifying birdsong from CD's would be to narow down the number of different birds that you are likely to have in the garden, and then only listen to these birds on the CD.

you will soon find that the birds in your garden sound quite different from each other, you will soon be able to recognise the easy ones like chaffinch, robin, blackbird and the repetitive "teacher teacher" of the great tit.
but be wary of the starlings,they imitate just about anyother bird, if i believed my ears this winter, i would have curlew on my garden list...

the quickest way to learn birdsong would be to go birding with an experienced birder or join your local RSPB Group on a bird walk.

[Caroline]

Thanks for that, that is in essence what I'm doing. Put what are you meant to do when you continually hear a call in the garden but can never find the bird to identify it!

[Whitezombie]

that is what keeps us all birding, there is always somthing new to learn/see.

if you can't see the bird singing in you garden, first rule out the ones you can see singing, this should only leave a couple of the more secretive birds like dunnock or goldcrest for example.

and just to keep things interesting some birds, great tit for one, make all sorts of different sounds. an old birders addage; if you hear a unusual bird sound,its a great tit.

[Ben]

Does anyone know of an easy way to get recordings of bird songs.
Being new to birding I'm often hearing songs and calls that I can't identify and I'm beginning to get very frustrated by my lack of knowledge. I have a number of friends who could identify the songs for me if only I could get them to hear them :( .
Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks

Hi Caroline,Try this site www.garden-birds.co.uk (http://www.garden-birds.co.uk) as there is a section in it where you can hear named bird sounds.:)

[Caroline]

Ben,
Many thanks that looks good - I can see many hours disappearing while browsing their pages :) .

I still have the same fundamental problem though of not knowing where to check then forgetting what the original call was, I have a pretty bad ear and can't hold the songs in my head very well, especially after listening to others!