# What birds are you hearing or seeing today? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 10, 2026, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957 "2026-05-10T01:12:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/63 "2026-05-17T23:05:50Z")
Prothonotary warbler. I’ve never in my life heard of that bird. Very cute. Shocking yellow. High pitched whistle. Had 3 individuals I could see. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/64 "2026-05-18T01:36:28Z")
Had a close encounter with a Veery (8 feet on a trail), after hearing one of them [singing their eerie song.](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Veery/sounds) ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/65 "2026-05-18T02:20:41Z")
I saw a female Nuttall’s woodpecker on the suet feeder a little while ago. And some house finches on the regular feeder, but they’re there every day. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/66 "2026-05-18T07:07:27Z")
I drove to a local nature preserve to take a walk this morning and saw a Baltimore oriole. I’d never seen one before around here (southwest suburbs of Chicago) so that was pretty neat. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/68 "2026-05-18T14:44:36Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Had a close encounter with a Veery (8 feet on a trail), after hearing one of them [singing their eerie song.](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Veery/sounds) One of my favorite bird songs!! ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/69 "2026-05-18T14:45:27Z")
I saw a bald eagle on Saturday afternoon! So majestic. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/70 "2026-05-18T14:55:23Z")
I determined that the bird who wakes me up before dawn is the humble American Robin. They can be amazingly loud. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/71 "2026-05-18T15:00:40Z")
On the advice of a friend, my wife and I downloaded a free bird/bird call identification app a few months ago: [Merlin Bird ID – Free, instant bird identification help and guide for thousands of birds – Identify the birds you see](https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/) We used it at first in the back yard and got the expected variety of birds typically found in suburban environments: sparrows, robins, starlings, bluejays, cardinals and the like. However, once we took it out on some the nature trails in the area it identified all kinds of birds that you don’t see everyday, and some of which I’ve never even of heard of before. When you see interesting bird calls identified like: Hermit Thrush, Belted Kingfisher, and Scarlet Tanager, you know you’ve hit paydirt. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/72 "2026-05-18T16:20:29Z")
The Scarlet Tanagers are so pretty. I was waiting to go in a place in a busy parking lot and got the ID on because I was hearing an unfamiliar bird song. It was a American Redstart. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/73 "2026-05-18T17:15:33Z")
I heard an Orchard Oriole for the first time yesterday afternoon. A cute little warble sound. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/74 "2026-05-18T22:03:23Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > I determined that the bird who wakes me up before dawn is the humble American Robin. They can be amazingly loud. And persistent. The one here often sings 2-3 hours before sunrise-I don’t mind. He does, as I keep unintentionally scaring him coming around a tree or bush, and when I got too close to his mate he flew up into a tree and glared at me. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/75 "2026-05-19T00:32:01Z")
Merlin tells me that the adorable peeping birds are actually blue-gray gnatcatchers! Spiffy. Also saw a couple of bluebirds flitting around yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/76 "2026-05-19T13:18:02Z")
This morning’s fun new bird: a Yellow-breasted Chat. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/77 "2026-05-22T15:07:26Z")
Drizzle and generally cooler weather have reduced the bird count today. However I did hear one beautiful long trill that turned out to be from a Worm-eating Warbler. Kind of an unfortunate name, it seems to me. Some get to be a Great Crested Flycatcher, a Ruby- crowned Kinglet, a Northern Flicker, an Orchard Oriole or even a Song Sparrow. But get caught eating one worm, and you get tagged as a Worm-eating Warbler for all time. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/78 "2026-05-22T20:22:46Z")
I’m in south eastern Australia, and we don’t get so much ‘birdsong’ as cacophonous screeching from the various natives. On any given day we get: Magpies, magpie larks, sulfur-crested cockatoos, corellas, crested doves, currawongs, rosellas and parakeets, plovers and of course, the ever-present white ibis (aka, bin chicken in Aussie vernacular). The magpie’s warble is a delight to hear, but the others? Not so much. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Hook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@Hook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hook)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/79 "2026-05-23T13:03:44Z")
As an expat, the one I miss most is the currawong. Do you not hear them? ---
**Author:** ![Hook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@Hook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hook)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/80 "2026-05-23T13:06:55Z")
I got drawn into Merlin about 2.5 years ago and am addicted. My current year list as of 5/22 is 200 species. I do spend a LOT of time listening, but my ability to use binoculars is very limited. I have tried monoculars with no success, but just hearing the sounds is a lot of fun. ---
**Author:** ![Hook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@Hook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hook)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/81 "2026-05-23T13:08:08Z")
And as I re-read Kambucta I see currawongs are listed. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/82 "2026-05-26T14:39:31Z")
NE MN - Last evening, I heard a very long and complicated birdsong. I saw the bird, but couldn’t identify it from where I was sitting. It was small and mostly brown. I didn’t think of Merlin until it was too late. I hope the bird returns today. I’ve never heard such a song! If I hadn’t seen the bird, I would have thought it was two or three different birds. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957/83 "2026-05-26T19:32:44Z")
Brown Thrasher? I heard one today — I thought it was a mockingbird at first. They apparently have the most varied song of any bird in my area. Wait — no, your bird was small. Thrashers are big. Sorry, don’t know! Wren songs tend to be pretty long, with lots of doubled notes. But…??? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-birds-are-you-hearing-or-seeing-today/1029957.md?page=5)