Birds and their songs are good for our mental health

I love the sounds of nature. I can't understand people who walk or run with earplugs and music constantly playing. It's also a safety issue. I loathe people who blast loud music on lovely serene afternoons too. Music should be background, not drowning out all other noise and having to scream over it to talk.

That's pretty cool. Early in the morning I like to get a cup of coffee and go sit on my back porch. What I call the morning birds start about 4AM. First one starts then off in the distance another responds, then another and so on until they're just chatting away. I figure it's their way of letting each other know that another day is about to start and that all is well 🙂 🐦

That's the best morning sound, when all the birds wake up and call out to each other. Some have different vocals and imitate other birds...like Blue Jays. After a while, you can tell the sounds that belongs to which bird. It's very peaceful.

I’ve touted before — the Cornell/Merlin Bird app shows which birds are currently squawking nearby. It highlights the soloist so you learn to recognize the calls

@r3, It's reassuring that all members of the animal kingdom just want what most humans want, another peaceful day

R5, and a well-fed one. In the case of carnivores and omnivores that means many members of the animal kingdom don't get what they want on a fateful day - although there's plenty of peace afterwards.

I put unshelled peanuts outside my window for the bluejays. It's cute to see them crack open the shells and then "wipe" their beaks on the railing when they finish eating.

^ I brush my dog and leave clumps of dog hair for nest building. Man, do they love dog hair 🙂

I have a tree right outside my kitchen window. It's very close. A robin's nest is active now. The mother is incubating her eggs...for a week now. Pretty soon, the babies will hatch. By the end of May, or early June...they should be fledged. I watched the mom build the nest, starting with pieces of straw (?) and it's a good size. I have a good view of this....very cool!

This is right under my garden, so plenty of worms for them! ^^

right *in..

A male robin smartly built a nest in the spokes under my outdoor table umbrella. The 4 eggs hatched. When the mother leaves or returns to feed the chicks, their embryonic heads poke up for a few seconds. Baby dinosaurs.

I have a cat bird in my front yard singing in the hedge and it’s a delight. It whispers, it sings like a canary, it makes cat noises, it has conversations with itself. And they’re very handsome birds.

My winter birds took off for good on May 13.

A Baltimore oriole has been driving me a little crazy with the same song for a week. Very repetitive.

I’m disappointed I didn’t get a spring Eastern towhee. Usually get one that stays a few weeks in spring and a few weeks in autumn. “Drink your teeeeea!” And “Dweet”.” Always called it “the dweet bird” when I was a kid.

My song sets you free

But who sings to me

I'm all alone now

Where is my songbird

Where is my songbird

Who sings his songs for me

I must amend. Apparently females do build their nests, but makes may originally gather the materials or supplement.

[quote] Female does most of nest building with some help from male. Site on horizontal branch of tree or shrub… also nests on ledges of houses, barns, bridges. Nest is a cup of grasses, twigs, debris, worked into solid foundation of mud, lined with fine grasses and plant fibers - Audubon

Catbirds are pretty gregarious. Chickadees, too. When I put the seed out in the morning...the chickadees are the first to show up with their "fee bee...fee bee" call. I say, "Good morning" to them. Catbirds don't fly off as easily and do sound like cats.

R13 Wild Birds Unlimited sells feed to attract Towhees. They want to get PAID damn it!

Shit. I caught the Trump capitalization affliction. ^

I have a Cardinal that he and his descendants have lived in the same bush for 10 years. It's amazing how they always return and dominate this one bush

[quote]I put unshelled peanuts outside my window for the bluejays.

R7 I do the same, but the squirrels and chipmunks usually beat them to the stash.

I’ve been throwing my birdseed in the driveway, which is gross because the driveway is speckled white from poop. But I’m trying to get the grass under the feeder to grow back after some rogue chickens came through a scratched the shit out of my front lawn. Chickens are truly fucking dinosaurs, man. Who knew how strong their feet/talons were? I filled the area in with potting soil and 3” grass seed, lightly covered with a sprinkled camouflage garden soil. There’s still a depression and it’s still got bald spots. It’s been 2 years I’ve been trying to rehab the area.

Anyone who has a bird feeder atop grass knows that worms really like to live under the aerated soil that tiny bird claws have scratched at. Chickens know those worms are under there and they are like nature’s backhoes.

R16 I have lots of black-capped chickadees and they are fearless. When I step outside and walk to the feeder, they circle around me waiting for their treats.

You know you can train chickadees to eat out of your hand, right? Sometimes tufted titmice, too. But chickadees are more confident that titmice.

I even had a red fox eating the seed on the ground lately. They are so beautiful, but they are very skittish and sensitive. They take off like a shot at any little noise. There must be a den nearby. This time of year, the goldfinches get their brilliant yellow color (males) with black highlights. So pretty.

I want an app that plays long recordings of birdsongs by species, not one that recognizes and identifies songs being played in nature. Is there such an app that people can recommend? (I suppose there are YouTube channels that offer long-play birdsong interrupted by Ozempic ads)

R23 I've heard that about hummingbirds, also. I've never tried it but have heard they, too, aren't afraid of us.

I think chickadees are one of my favorite birds, because of their "tameness". I love woodpeckers, too. I get downy, hairy, red bellied and northern flicker woodpeckers. When they do their drumming...even at a distance, it can be very loud. :) Once, I saw a pileated woodpecker in the back woods...for only a few minutes. They are around, but rarely see them. That was a treat!

@r21, " rogue chickens "

😂

Love birds. Here in Ohio, the regular visitors to my one story roof top include sparrows, starlings, grackles, robins, blue jays, and cardinals. They come to eat what I throw to them. The sparrows are bold! Flying very close to me at the open window and pecking at the closed window "FEED ME!" One got into the house last week, and he was assisted out the door intact. I feel for the chimney swifts who can only be found flting through the sky as the cannot walk or perch.

I never knew about chimney swifts. How do they rest? How do they feed? I need to learn more about them.

If chimney swifts aren't flying, then they're clinging to the inside walls of a chimney. Their legs and feet are very close to their bodies for this purpose. It's a cool sighting when you spot a flock of them dive into a chimney altogether.

{Continued}

Swifts feed in the air on flying insects - again, they spend their lives either flying or clinging. Fascinating vid of them possibly feeding and then diving into a huge chimney.

R25 The app in R4 does.

If you click “explore birds” and then choose a species, then click “sounds” there are multiple recordings of songs, calls, juvenile calls etc

@r32, Where did they go before chimneys were a thing? 🤔

Caves and dead, hollow trees - giant rocky cliffs/hillsides.

Yeah all that squawking seems like it's really helping my nerves.

@r35, Seems like those chimney birds are pretty smart. Move from caves and hollow trees to toasty warm chimneys

I like the morning caroling magpies.

R31 Thanks for the information about chimney swifts. I have never seen them or witnessed them swarming in my area (Lake Michigan area). Now I feel deprived for not being able to experience them. The video was great. From the caption, it looks like they call home Central America and Venezuela so I wonder if Portland swifts is a name or if they visit Portland (Oregon?)

Swifts are found everywhere from the eastern part of N Dakota straight down to the Gulf of Mexico in Eastern Texas - the entire eastern half of the US. You may have spotted them on occasion but didn't realize it. They're more active at dawn and dusk. They flap their wings very rapidly, and they're fast - swift! I'm presently viewing several flying around while having my coffee at the window 6:30a.

R36 better that than rap blasting from bass speakers. Hope those fuckers are all deaf in 20 years.

I'd like to read more about bird's songs and mental health.

I’m putting out another bird feeder. Plus, I have two pet birds inside.

I have a hard time understanding why a person would have birds inside their home. They need to be free.