A Song for August 08

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The Black Balsam Knob Road is a paved Forest Service road that leads from the Blue Ridge Parkway up through the spruces to a parking lot and the trailheads for several popular hiking trails. I always stop along the steep initial part to look and listen for Alder Flycatchers. This area also usually has Eastern Towhees and Common Yellowthroats, and Chestnut-sided Warblers, Black-capped Chickadees, and Dark-eyed Juncos are often in evidence.

On this occasion both the yellowthroat (above) and towhee (below) were calling. If you are going to learn any calls, as opposed to songs, these are two good ones to start with. Both are distinctive and commonly heard from these common, handsome, and interesting species.


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INVALUABLE RESOURCES
Nathan D. Pieplow. 2017. Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Eastern North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Nathan D. Pieplow. 2019. Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Western North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Donald Kroodsma. 2005. The Singing Life of Birds. Houghton Mifflin.