Our 10 Favorite Bird Audio Recordings From 2019

In 2019, we uploaded 609 audio recordings to the amazing resource that is The Macaulay Library. We revisited our favorites to compile this Top 10 list, presented in chronological order. We hope you enjoy them!
 
Note: All recordings were made with an Olympus LS-10 hand-held portable recording device. Also, photos are not necessarily of the particular birds from the recordings.

1. Lesser Goldfinch – Windsor, California

Mockingbirds, thrashers, and starlings may garner headlines for their mimicry skills, but don’t sleep on the Lesser Goldfinch! This diminutive ball of energy can also perform an awesome array of copycat vocalizations.
 
Listen to this incredible string of imitations – we think we can make out these quick snippets. We surely missed some – do you hear anything else? So impressive!!

• 0:01 – Black Phoebe
• 0:04 – Pacific-slope Flycatcher
• 0:04 – Western Tanager
• 0:05 – American Kestrel
• 0:06 – House Finch
• 0:07 – American Robin
• 0:10 – Northern Flicker
• 0:21 – House Finch
• 0:24 – American Goldfinch
• 0:30 – Yellow-rumped Warbler
• 0:34 – White-breasted Nuthatch

2. American Bittern – Petaluma, California

Head to freshwater wetlands during early spring for a chance to hear the wonderfully weird courtship call of the American Bittern. Hearing this call in person was a literal jaw-dropper, and we enjoyed this hidden male repeatedly “pump-er-lunk“-ing (or “oong-ka-choonk“-ing, whichever you prefer) from inside the tules. About two minutes went by between each vocalization in the recording.

3. Snowy Egret – Santa Rosa, California

According to our very thorough research, Snowy Egrets are the stand-up comics of the bird world. We doubled over laughing while recording these Snowies at the 9th Street breeding colony in Santa Rosa. We included multiple recordings below since we asked for so many encores. Can you hear the Snowy saying “Hiiiii” in the first one?

4. Brown-headed Cowbird – Bodega Bay, California

Real life bird or synthesizer? You be the judge! Though these brood parasites are rather dark and plain, their otherworldly song is a show-stopper every time.

5. Hermit Warbler – Guerneville, California

We were fortunate to host a pair of Hermit Warblers in our neighborhood last nesting season. These beauties can be very difficult to spot due to their penchant for foraging and singing from the tip-tops of towering redwoods and doug-firs. Most of the time, we have to settle for a sweet, disembodied serenade like this one.

Two months later, we realized the Hermit Warblers had hatched a successful brood when we spotted a fledgling! The male parent repeatedly brought food to the youngster as it incessantly gave this double-chip begging call. We enjoyed watching several feedings before the birds traveled out of sight.

6. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – Glen Ellen, California

Patiently observing a bird during breeding season can sometimes lead you right to its nest. That’s exactly what happened as we watched this Blue-gray Gnatcatcher moving through the oaks, singing all the while. We love how this fast-paced, stuttering song mixes in some classic, Blue-gray nasal-whines.

7. Cassin’s Vireo – Guerneville, California

Listening to and recording bird songs is certainly a joy, but it can be equally interesting to capture an intense alarm call. This Cassin’s Vireo was deep inside a California Bay Laurel when a Stellar’s Jay swooped in, prompting this scolding chatter from the vireo. The Cassin’s concludes his confrontation with an emphatic song snippet.

8. Yellow-breasted Chat – Sebastopol, California

We stood alongside an expanse of blackberry tangle hoping to get a peek at this Yellow-breasted Chat as he tirelessly belted out his entertaining mix of churts, chatters, and whistles. However, this secretive and talented songster eluded us for nearly an hour. Though we only briefly glimpsed a stocky yellowish figure flying from one hidden spot to another, enjoying his song for so long was plenty satisfying.

9. Bell’s Sparrow – Healdsburg, California

In 2013, the Sage Sparrow was split into two sparrow species – Sagebrush and Bell’s. The photograph above is actually of a Sagebrush Sparrow we observed in Nevada.
 
In our neck of the woods, the Bell’s Sparrow is typically found in the northeastern portion of Sonoma County, and its skulking ways can make it difficult to see. We captured the tinkly, mechanical song of this Bell’s Sparrow one sunny day last June at the top of Pine Flat Road.
 
(The October 2019 Kincade Fire hit Pine Flat Road hard. We really hope these cuties emerged unscathed and find suitable breeding habitat this coming spring.)

10. Clark’s Grebe – Albany, California

Water birds seem to be underrepresented within audio recordings, so it’s always fun to capture the sounds coming from the bays, wetlands, rivers, and ponds. While participating in a shorebird survey, this repetitive cry caught our ear. We pinpointed a beautiful Clark’s Grebe as the source of this unfamiliar sound. After some follow-up research, it appears this is a begging call used to elicit a feeding. You can hear the “normal” adult call at 0:02, 0:09, and 0:11 seconds.

Check out last year’s collection of “Our 15 Favorite Bird Audio Recordings From 2018.”