The Sound Approach to Birding
The Sound Approach to Birding - A Guide to Understanding Bird Sound
by
On their website; ‘The Sound Approach to Birding’ see: http://www.soundapproach.co.uk/intro.PHP Those responsible for this publication say: Learn the facts of bird sound whilst listening to over 200 beautiful exclusive stereo recordings from all over the world. Combining Anecdote, scientific theory and practical experience this book and accompanying discs is a step by step guide though tone, pitch, rhythm, reading sonograms, acoustics and using sounds to sex and age birds. It explains how sounds are often the first indication of previously unrecognised taxonomic splits and explains how to identify them. With The Sound Approach you can maximise the use of sound in enhancing your field skills and improve your standards of identification whatever your level of experience.
One of the main thrusts of the book is that, by producing sonograms, one can at last visualise the difference between bird songs and calls whether it be between species or between sexes and ages of the same species. In other words those as audio-challenged as I can now see the difference between songs, not just struggle with half heard nuances.
I’m going to keep this short... the book and the discs are brilliant. Some new ideas are clearly explained and excellently illustrated. The fact that I am left unable to use this knowledge is no reflection on the author nor is it a rejection of the publication’s tenets. I remain as unable to tackle bird song as I am unable to learn to play a musical instrument. I love bird song, just like I love music, but I can not pretend to understand it no matter how hard I try nor how well people teach me. Just as some people are colour blind so some, like me, just don’t get it. I can appreciate the song, I love to hear birds singing, and, on rare occasions I can managed to identify the bird responsible for these sublime utterances, but within seconds I am pitched into a sort of ‘groundhog day’ of song; that which I heard and could identify just then, is a mystery right now!
I feel as if I owe Mark an apology, no one has written as clearly, has demonstrated with audio tracks so well, nor illustrated so pictographically as he, and yet I am as stumped as ever. This really is ground breaking and should be in everyone’s library even if they clear off every other book but for their Collins Fieldguide as I am sure it does more to explain bird song and help birders get to grips with it than any other publication has ever done before. Its me! It really, really is. I’m sorry guys, I feel like a Neanderthal staring at a modern man who is patiently trying to show him how fire works… I’m warm and fascinated but can neither understand it or deal with it by myself… come to think of it, I look quite like a Neanderthal too!Fatbirder
Buy this book from www.nhbs.com
Created: 29th Aug 2007
