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Review By Barb Beck University of Alberta I have just had the pleasure of reviewing a copy of John Neville's latest CD set, Bird Songs - Western Boreal Forest. It is a fantastic set. Almost all of the recordings were made by John as he travelled across Canada's Boreal Forest. Most of the recordings are from Saskatchewan and Alberta. The dialects you hear are of the birds from that region. In the narration he often gives a little extra insight into the species or into the recording. He has not limited himself just to birds. There are a few mammals, including Deer, an interesting recording of a Black Bear, and amphibians which are part of the Boreal soundscape. Some are very interesting. I never realized how much a Green Winged Teal could sound like a jet plane but he has managed to capture a recording of it. He has an excellent recording of the song of the rarely recorded Hawk Owl. John's recordings sound very natural. On some bird song CD's some
of the recordings appear to be of highly agitated birds which have been enticed to
vocalize by tape playback. The birds on John Neville's CD set sound like they do when you
are just enjoying their song in their natural surroundings. John has stated that his own
philosophy "is to present bird sounds in a way that anyone can recognize them. If
more people recognize the critters then more space will be saved and protected for birds.
I think knowledge of wildlife is critical for the natural world in an environment
dominated by man." Each species is on a separate track in the CD which makes access
easy. The set is arranged with the more common birds you would encounter in the first
group followed by the following groups of birds and other animals: warblers, sparrows,
raptors, shorebirds, waterfowl, marshes, mammals and rodents, and finally gulls. There are
55tracks on the first CD and 52 on the second. Species List -Bird Songs- Western Boreal Forest by John Neville CD#1 1.Introduction Songbirds 2.American Robin 5Sask 3.Hermit Thrush 6Alb 4.Swainson's Thrush 5Sask 5.Gray-cheeked Thrush 6BC 6.Western & Scarlet Tanager 5Alb,5Man 7.Boreal Chickadee 6Alb 8.Black-capped Chickadee 6Sask 9.Winter Wren 5Alb 10.Cassin's Vireo 6Alb 11.Female Ruffed Grouse 6Alb 12.Red-eyed Vireo 6Sask 13.Warbling Vireo 6NWT 14.Tree Swallow 5Alb 15.Cliff Swallow 6NWT 16.Barn Swallow 6Sask 17.Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 5Alb 18.Northern Flicker YSFL 6Sask 19.Black-backed Woodpecker 5Alb 20.Three-toed Woodpecker 5Sask 21.Hairy Woodpecker 6Sask 22.Pileated Woodpecker 6Sask 23.Alder Flycatcher 6NWT 24.Least Flycatcher 6NWT 25.Olive-sided Flycatcher 6Sask 26.Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 6Sask 27.Eastern Phoebe 5Sask 28.Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5Alb 29.Common Raven 2 examples 30.Gray Jay 6Sask 31.Black-billed Magpie 6Sask 32.Rose-breasted Grosbeak 5Ont 33.Evening Grosbeak 6Sask 34.Baltimore Oriole 6Sask 35.American Goldfinch 5Sask Warblers 36.Yellow-rumped 5Alb 37.Cape May 5Sask 38.Bay-breasted 6NWT 39.Tennessee 6BC 40.Blackpoll 6BC 41.Black and White 6Alb 42.Black-throated Green 6Sask 43.Conneticut 6Sask 44.Blackburnian 5Sask 45.Palm 6BC 46.Yellow 6NWT 47.Orange-crowned 6Sask 48.Ovenbird 5Alb 49.Northern Waterthrush 6Sask 50.Mourning 4 examples 51.Canada 5Ont 52.Magnolia 6Sask 53.American Redstart 2 examples 54.Wilson's 6Sask 55.Nashville 6Sask
CD#2 Sparrows 1.Dark-eyed Junco ORJU 6BC 2.Song 2 examples 3.White-throated 2examples 4.Lincoln's 5Alb 5.American Tree 6BC 6.Chipping 6Sask 7.Fox Northern Red 5Alb 8.Clay-coloured 6Sask 9.Le Conte's 6Sask 10.Harris' ctMan Raptors 11.Red-tailed Hawk 6Sask 12.Peregrine Falcon Continental & Common Tern 6Alb 13.Sharp-shinned Hawk gb5NY 14.Northern Goshawk juv as7BC,kc8UT 15.Cooper's Hawk 5Alb 16.Merlin 6Alb Shorebirds 17.Spotted Sandpiper 6BC 18.Solitary Sandpiper 6Sask 19.Greater Yellowlegs 6Sask 20.Lesser Yellowlegs 5Alb 21.Killdeer 6Sask Waterfowl 22.Common Loon hoots & night chorus 23.Red-necked Grebe 5Alb 24.Common Goldeneye 5Alb 25.Ring-necked Duck 6Sask 26.Green-winged Teal 5Sask 27.Blue-winged Teal 5Sask Marshes 28.Red-winged Blackbirds 6Sask 29.Wilson's Snipe 6Sask 30.Common Yellowthroat 6Sask 31.Sora 6NWT 32.Marsh Wren 5Alb 33.Pied-billed Grebe 5Alb 34.Swamp Sparrow 6Sask 35.Canada Goose 5Alb 36.Sandhill Crane 6NWT 37.Whooping Crane we 38.Canadian Toad 6Alb 39.Wood Frog 5Alb 40.Boreal Chorus Frog 5Alb Night Sounds 41.Common Nighthawk 6NWT 42.Barred Owl 5Alb 43.Great Horned Owl 3 examples 44.Northern Hawk Owl 6Alb 45.Boreal Owl tt3Alb 46.Northern Saw-Whet Owl 5Alb Mammals & Rodents 47.Black Bear 6BC 48.Red Squirrel 5Alb Gulls 49.Bonaparte's 5Alb 50.Franklin's 6Alb 51.Mew 5Alb 52.Conclusion 6Sask |
