by Paul J. Baicich
A lot can be written about identifying birds through their sounds, especially when describing mnemonics - gimmicks that help us remember - or similes - likenesses to other sounds with which we may be familiar. But let's just look at one major issue often ignored in many instructional settings. It's what one might call "subjective hearing."
Just because a close and detailed recording/listening to a vocal Acadian Flycatcher will indicate that it has three parts, doesn't mean that everyone will hear three parts. And just because you as an instructor can easily pick up the end of a song of a Blackburnian Warbler, doesn't mean that your older students will be able to do likewise.
So, don't try to force your classroom and field students to hear exactly what you hear when it comes to bird sounds. With that in mind, here are three short suggestions:
1 Let the student interpret the sounds. You can describe what it sounds like to you and give them some fine hints, but ask them to describe what it sounds like to them. Encourage them to be attentive and feel confident in describing what it does, actually, sound like to them. You can help them become more attuned, but you can't force them to hear sounds that they do not hear.
2 These days, boomers are almost invariably experiencing some level of hearing loss. Teaching this age-group about bird sounds may be more difficult, simply because they can't hear as much as you might for a number of very good reasons. ("It wasn't the acid at Woodstock, man, it was that I just sat too close to the speakers on the stage!") Indeed, these folks may not hear the "whole" bird song, just parts. Work with that reality; work on what they can hear. To them, parts of bird sounds can be learned and appreciated, and bird can be identified from these segments alone.
3 Don't fear "auditory amnesia." Almost everyone forgets some sounds; almost everyone needs reminders and a process of re-acquaintance. (I have to re-learn many warbler songs each spring, if only because it's been a year since I've heard them and because my hearing simply isn't what it was when I was 16.)
Of course, bird identification by sound involves exposure, repetition, and practice. And these three hints all hinge on a subjective approach, with different people listening to bird sound, or any sounds for that matter. The message to deliver is: trust yourself and be flexible with your own hearing and learning processes.
In these cases, and with subjective hearing in mind, it is important to remember the words of Duke Ellington, the great American composer, pianist, and big band leader: "If it sounds good, it is good!"
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