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Product release - November 1999
Birding , American Birding Association, vol 33 number 3 June 2001, pp271-2, Book & Media reviews by Michael R Hannisian Bird Songs of Canada's West Coast. John Neville,1999 Neville Recording, 760 Walker's Hook Rd , Salt Spring Island BC., V8K 1N5, Canada Bird Songs of Canada's West Coast is a 73.5-minute collection of 99 bird, 1 frog, and 3 marine-mammal sounds from the west coast of Canada narrated by John Neville. It is essentially an introduction, organized by habitat, to the common birds of this region, including the drumming of Red-breasted Sapsuckers and Ruffed Grouse, and the wing sounds of Rufous Hummingbirds and Band-tailed Pigeons.
As you undoubtedly know, the overwhelming majority of commercial bird recordings are simply a list of names followed by one or more vocalizations, leaving it to the user to figure out how to distinguish similar sounding species. Although an excellent set of basic introductional recordings was made in the late 1980s and the early 1990s(the Birding by Ear series), I am unaware of other similar products. Also, many species have regional "accents" which can vary significantly, yet rarely are the locations of recordings noted. Bird Songs of Canada's West Coast, on the other hand, provides basic descriptions and identifies where each recording was made. For example, the first species is a Song Sparrow, from Pender Island, doing its classic maids, maids, maids, put on the kettle-ettle-ettle song. This is followed by a different individual, from Salt Spring Island, imitating the trill of a Spotted Towhee(heard in the background). While more could have been done, such as distinguishing the Song Sparrow's song from that of the Bewick's Wren (presented five tracks later), or suggesting how to separate trills of the sparrow and the towhee, the approach used is distinctly better than the typical name/vocalization format. Also, the transliterations and descriptions used in Bird Songs of Canada's West Coast include some I had not previously encountered. For example: hey sweetie for the Black-capped Chickadee song (a three-note version) and a comparison between the trill of a Orange-crowned Warbler and the sound made running your finger along the teeth of a comb. My initial reaction was that these descriptions were not helpful. However, as I listened longer, I came to appreciate that these new (for me) "handles" did reflect the subject vocalizations. Thus, Neville offers additional devices to help remember these songs and calls. Background sounds are included which, generally, provide additional context. (For some interesting thoughts on the significance of audio context, see Bernie Krause's discussion of "biophonics" in his 1998 book Into a Wild Sanctuary.) However, the surf accompanying the Chestnut-backed Chickadees is much too loud. On the other hand, Neville's description of how he stalked a Sandhill Crane for 15 minutes only to have it then approach him for a handout breaks the monotony typical in name/song products, and is reminiscent of BBC's rather entertaining Bill Oddie videos. Bird Songs of Canada's West Coast also adds context by offering House Sparrow and Double-crested Cormorant vocalizations from a mixed colony, a discussion about two Barred Owls conversing with each other, a male Pelagic Cormorant's call as he returns to feed his mate, and the change in the vocalizations of a colony of Glaucous-winged Gulls as a Bald Eagle flies by. Likewise, the calls of Bushtits are explained as helping to keep the flock together, while an example is given of a European Starling imitating a Bald Eagle to intimidate other birds. On the other hand, I question some of Neville's assertions. he recommends a one-to-one sugar-to-water ratio for hummingbird feeders, contrary to the generally accepted one-to-four ratio. he also states that in medieval times the Common Nighthawk was thought to drink blood. But medieval times is a term related to European history, there are no nighthawks in Europe, and the single widespread European member of the family was thought to suckle goats, not drink blood. A more unfortunate situation involves the calls of two individuals identified as Hairy Woodpeckers, one of which is a Belted Kingfisher. Regardless of these errors, and even though only a relatively small number of species are covered, Bird Songs of Canada's West Coast is better than most commercially available recordings. Many of these, including most instuctional CD-ROMs, simply name the species followed by one or more vocalizations. This one identifies where the recordings were made and provides a degree of context. Michael R Hannisian ISBN # to 978-1-926866-01-7
Species List for Bird Songs of Canada's West Coast
BACKYARD BIRDS 1. Song Sparrow 5Pender,6SSI 2. Chestnut-backed Chickadee 6PtRenfrew Black-capped Chickadee 2Creston 3. Rufous Hummingbird 5Rockies 4. European Starling 8SSI 5. House Sparrow 1Victoria,kc5UT 6. Bewick's Wren 7SSI 7. Violet-green Swallow 5SSI 8. Purple Finch 5SSI 9. House Finch 5Cormorant,5SSI 10.Northern Flicker 6SSI 11.Hairy Woodpecker 5Haida Gwaii,4Denman PARKS,FARMS,ROADWAYS AND OLD CLEARCUTS 12.Spotted Towhee 3SSI 13.Dark-eyed Junco 12,7SSI 14.California Quail 4SSI 15.Orange-crowned Warbler Rufous Hummingbird 5PrRupert 16.Band-tailed Pigeon 6SSI 17.White-crowned Sparrow 4SSI 18.Bushtit kc6CA GARRY OAK MEADOWS 19.Sky Lark 6Saanich 20.Savannah Sparrow 4Sidney 21.Brewer's Blackbird 6SSI NIGHT CALLS 22.Western Screech-Owl 7SSI 23.Barred Owl 4Denman,4Galiano 24.Spotted Owl 6Pemberton 25.Northern Pygmy Owl 9SSI 26. Northern Saw-whet Owl 4SSI 27.Barn Owl ar7SSI 28.Great Horned Owl 4Denman 29.Common Nighthawk 7SSI MIXED WOODLAND 30.Common Raven 5Haida Gwaii 31.Northwestern Crow 4SSI 32.Red-breasted Sapsucker 5SSI 33.Red-breasted Nuthatch 5Nelson 34.Great Blue Heron 3,5SSI 35.Pacific Tree Frog 10,4SSI 36.Blue Grouse 4SSI 37.Ruffed Grouse 4Nelson 38.Cassin's Vireo 5SSI 39.Hutton's Vireo 5SSI,gk7OR 40.Warbling Vireo 5SSI 41.Pacific-slope Western Flycatcher 5PrRupert,6SSI 42.Black-throated Gray Warbler 5Sechelt 43.Townsend's Warbler 5Masset,4SSI,5PtRenfrew 44.House Wren 6SSI 45.Swainson's Thrush 7Courtenay 46.Western Tanager 6Cortes 47.Olive-sided Flycatcher 6SSI 48.Varied Thrush 5Tetrahedron 49.Cooper's Hawk as3Victoria 50.Merlin 5Denman CREEK, RIVER AND LAKE BANKS 51.Hammond's Flycatcher-5Sechelt 52.Willow Flycatcher-6Comox 53.MacGillivray's Warbler-6Cortez 54.Wilson's Warbler-5Tetrahedron,PtRenfrew 55.Osprey-5Sechelt OLD GROWTH FOREST 56.Pileated Woodpecker-4Sidney 57.Brown Creeper-4SSI 58.Winter Wren-4SSI 59.Golden-crowned Kinglet-kc6WA 60.Marbled Murrelet-pj4Caron Range,7Desolation Sound MARSHES 61.Sandhill Crane-9Reiffel 62.Red-winged Blackbird-5SSI 63.Virginia Rail-5SSI 64.Marsh Wren-5Nanaimo 65.American Bittern-5Nisga'a Hwy 66.Pied-billed Grebe-5Sechelt 67.Mallard-5Denman 68.Common Yellowthroat-5PrRupert 69.Yellow Warbler-5Sechelt 70.Canada Goose-4SSI SHOREBIRDS 71.Bald Eagle-5Wallace 72.Belted Kingfisher-7SSI 73.Killdeer-1Quadra 74.Black Oystercatcher-6Mitlenatch 75.Black Turnstone-1Sooke 76.Purple Martin-6Ladysmith 77.Peregrine Falcon-apNY GULLS 78.Glaucous-winged Gull- 6SSI,Mandarte,Mitlenatch 79.Mew Gull-12SSI 80.Bonaparte's Gull-kc6AK WINTERING SEABIRDS 81.American Wigeon-12SSI 82.Harlequin Duck-6Mitlenatch 83.Common Loon-5Sechelt 84.Red-throated Loon-5Haida Gwaii 85.Western Grebe-kc6UT 86.Red-necked Grebe-5Hornby 87.Black Scoter-1Comox 88.Long-tailed Duck-kc3AK 89.Common Goldeneye-2Prevost 90.Brant Western subspecies-di4Parksville 91.Snow Goose-kc1CA 92.Trumpeter Swan-1Comox Nesting Colonies of Seabirds 93.Double-crested Cormorant-2,6Mandarte 94.Pelagic Cormorant-6Mandarte 95.Pigeon Guillemot-6Mitlenatch 96.Ancient Murrelet-ca5Reef 97.Rhinoceros Auklet Cassin's Auklet-ca5Triangle 98.Harbour Seal-1Prevost 99.Stellar's Sea Lion-6Mitlenatch 100California Sea Lion-6Mitlenatch Playig Time 73:30
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