ALARMING BLACKBIRDS:
   Whenever the BirdWatch Ireland South Dublin branch have a talk about birdsong or a guide outing to listen to birdsong we tell people that two birds that can sound similar are the Blackbird and the Song Thrush. We tell them that the Song Thrush often ends a snatch of song by repeating single notes, usually four times but the Blackbird never repeats single notes having a flowing mellower song, which might repeat a complete song cycle, but not single notes. Well, as often happens there’s always a bird out there waiting to disprove your confident declaration. A Blackbird singing from a neighbour’s garden not only incorporates four repeated notes, which it probably copied from a Song Thrush, but it also mimics another, less melodic sound. When I heard it singing first in February I realized parts of its song sounded very like a neighbour’s very distinctive house alarm, one that goes off frequently. The Blackbird was doing a very good imitation of the oscillating sound of the alarm. Starlings are known as great mimics of other birds but Blackbirds aren’t so I thought I’d check the Internet. First story the search engine came up with concerned a Blackbird in England which became notorious last year for imitating, not only alarms, but it also did a very convincing and loud imitation of a ambulance siren as well as incorporating the ring tone of the mobile phone of the chap whose garden he was singing in. The family lived near a hospital with ambulances passing regularly but they weren’t that thrilled to hear the call of one at 5.00am every morning.
This particular bird can be seen and heard on You Tube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=KifpQe02HEE

   Another search result was a bird forum where someone described a Blackbird who had incorporated the sound of a horse whinnying. She said it usually sang this particular phrase while in flight, giving the impression of a flying horse passing overhead. Our Blackbirds will usually have stopped singing by early June but if you want to hear bird songs and how to identify individual species you can come along to our Dawn Chorus meeting at the car park at Cabinteely House at 4.00am on Sunday17th May. For those who don’t fancy a early start we also have a evening chorus outing at BirdWatch’s new reserve at Blackditch in Co. Wicklow at 7.30pm on Saturday 9th May meeting at the Newcastle Inn in Newcastle. Everybody welcome, you don’t have to be a BirdWatch member.

   A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song. – Maya Angelou

The Dalkey Starlings in winter often recreate the high-pitched call of Swifts, while the Swifts themselves would be flying around in the hot air of Africa. They spend a very short time here since they depend solely on air borne insects that are only flying when the air is at its warmest. The first individual Swifts are usually seen in early May and they only stay till early August so they are real birds of high summer. They are one of the last migrants to arrive almost two months after our earliest migrants. Wheatears and Sandwich Terns were seen in early March. Five Sand Martins were flying in over Dalkey Quarry on St. Patrick’s Day and a Swallow was seen flying in off the sea under Killiney Hill on 20th March. Chiffchaffs, small yellowish green warblers were seen and heard the same weekend and there’s quite a few singing on Dalkey and Killiney hills at the moment.
    We hadn’t seen Jays for a few months, either in the garden where they had become regular, very welcome visitors, or around the two hills where their presence was often made known by their shrieking call, or a brief flash of white or blue as they moved secretly through the trees. I’d given up on them attempting to nest in the woods around Killiney Hill this year. They had attempted to nest last year and were witnessed carrying nest building material, but I don’t think they succeeded. Anyhow early April found us walking through Dalkey quarry when that distinctive white rump patch flashed up across the cliffs above us. A most unlikely place to find a bird usually associated with oak woods but this bird evidently hadn’t read the reference book as it flitted around the rock face, its pinkish brown plumage blending in against the golden brown of the rock face. Saw it later when it had moved up to the woods and since they don’t build nests too early, who knows, there might be some young ones around yet. I mentioned before someone who had done a thesis on Jays during which he would bait traps with acorns then catch weigh and ring the captured Jay before releasing it again. He kept getting the same Jay in the trap and since they’re very intelligent birds it evidently knew it would be released and it was worth the inconvenience for the sake of an easy meal.
    If the weather is like previous summers it’ll seem like grim advice but if there is a dry warm spell birdbaths are very valuable to birds both for drinking but also for washing to keep their flight feathers clean and in good working condition. If you don’t have a birdbath an upturned dustbin lid or plate will do, just make sure they’re not somewhere where cats can sneak up on the bathing birds and make sure they’re slightly tilted so the birds can wade in from the shallow end. Blackbirds can often be seen taking dustbaths on warm sunny days, snuggling down into the soil and basking with their heads raised. Some birds do this to aggravate ants which then spray them with formic acid which doesn’t harm the birds but does kill any mites they might have in their feathers. If you’ve been feeding birds during the summer don’t stop now. Although you won’t be getting as many birds you can still be helping the ones you do get since when you provide a ready source of food for them it gives them more time to hunt for the insects they need to feed their young.

TIPS TO RECOGNISING SOME COMMON BIRD SONGS:
Song Thrush: Very strident, intense but melodic. Repeats phrases a number of times in each song bout. Some phrases said to sound like ‘Cherry Dew’ and ‘Knee Deep’. Ends song by repeating single note usually four times. Often begins singing in November. Often last bird singing on warm summer nights.
Blackbird: Very mellow, melodic rounded notes with fewer intervals between phrases then Song Thrush. Rarely repeats song or notes. Starts singing February/March ends late May or early June.
Mistle Thrush: Wild, haunting, distant quality. Succession of similar short phrases which are richer and longer than those of Song Thrush with no repetition of single notes. Always sings from very high perch. Often singing on windy days which give it its alternative name of Storm Cock.
Robin: Clear, shrill, whistly phrases delivered in very relaxed fashion. Each phrase different with long gaps in between. Slow notes tumble into rapid ones. Sings all year though song changes slightly in breeding season.
Wren: Very loud, considering his size. A sudden explosion of ‘alarmed’ song, which ends abruptly with trilling phrase as opposed to Robins single notes. Sings from cover or low in bush, brambles.
Great Tit: Loud metallic double note, sounds like ‘Tee-Cher’ though many variations on song from individual birds.
Blackcap: Loud explosive jumble of flutelike and scratchy notes with phrases getting louder before ending abruptly. Very melodic, often described as Ireland’s nearest equivalent to a Nightingale, & phrases in song, similar to Blackbird and Robin’s. Usually sings from dense cover of brambles bushes, holly, etc.
Dunnock: Brief, fast high-pitched and quite sweet. Said to sound like unoiled wheels of a trolley. Often confused with Wren but quieter and lacks trills.
Greenfinch: Chirpy chattering song often described as like a machine gun delivered from high branch or tree top. Ends with a rasping ‘Raspberry’ note.
Chaffinch: Bubbly, loud gradually descending song ending with a note that can sound like a wolf-whistle. Lots of different call notes which can sound like ‘Ping’ or ‘Pink’. Very incessant in oak woods.
Willow Warbler: Similarly descending song as Chaffinch but much wispier. Almost identical to Chiffchaff in appearance the easiest way to differentiate them is by their song.
Chiefchaff: Named after his song, a repetitive wispy ‘Chiff-Chaff ‘Often heard in woodland.