I need to be honest right now because I’ve already been dishonest with my title, although I’ve got to say that being dishonest is a lot more fun. This post is not about loons, or the eerie and iconic call of this magnificent bird, or about what its call represents, or is likely to mean, if it mean anything; but of course it means something otherwise a loon wouldn’t be calling in the first place. Enough of this! This post has nothing whatsoever to do with looney tunes, but it does concern other common, often ignored calls during the winter months. Notice how I abruptly introduced winter into the proceedings.
1. The exquisitely common Black-capped chickadee has a considerable repertoire of calls. When walking alongside, or though a woodlot it is easy to ignore them because we think that it’s only a chickadee. Other birds often associate with chickadees. It’s a mistake to ignore them as “only chickadees”. I don’t make that mistake anymore, but I’m still burdened by a sack-load of other mistakes that weigh upon my rounded shoulders.
2. If you ignore blue jays making a ruckus that lasts for minutes on end then you may be missing an opportunity. There is a good chance that those jays are harassing a hawk, or some other perched bird of prey. Since the trees are leafless it shouldn’t be too difficult to locate the source of all the excitement. Go jays, go!
3. Noisy crows may be nothing more than noisy crows having a bit of a chin wag, or they be preparing to harass some large formidable bird-of-prey. If you hear noisy crows check out the neighbourhood for what else might be present. If you find something interesting then give the crows a thumbs-up because they see everything. Make sure it's your thumb.
4. Rat-tat-tat-tat! Probably a Downy, or maybe a Hairy, right? Maybe it’s more than that. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard a Hairy banging away in a tree only to immediately see a Downy closer to the ground but clearly not the source of the hammering. Then I hear a Red-bellied proclaim its relocation to an adjacent tree. A few times I hear another Red-bellied calling a little farther away but then suddenly realize that the call isn’t what I thought, at first. It’s a Pileated! Woodpeckers sometimes hang around in loose groups. Be prepared, is all I’m suggesting. This is only a theory based upon field experience. Not all woodpeckers may have ratified that theory yet. Besides, I’ve been very unsuccessful at locating any woodpeckers in a field and I’ve checked-out all the fields around here.
5. You hear a distant cacophony of tiny birds near the roadside of adjacent fields. What should you do? If I were you, I would immediately rejoice because I would find myself much younger. It would be prudent to pull over before you reach those myriad frenzied birds. Their roadside campaign almost certainly involves food, sometimes left there by farmers, or millionaire seed-bearing bird-lovers pretending to be a farmer. Those birds attracted to the roadside might be Snow bunting, or perhaps Horned larks taking advantage of a roadside dump. No, not that. Don’t be vulgar. I would not suggest exiting your oversized, over-priced and somewhat pretentious SUV because that could spook the whole bonanza. Approach the feeding frenzy very, very slowly under power. When you get close enough to render effective your oversized, over-priced and way cool telephoto lens take a few shots through an open window. After a certain interval it might be profitable to slowly exist your vehicle while keeping a low profile and effectively approach still further with discretionary stealth. The adjacent fields should keep away any noisy woodpeckers.
