MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • October 3, 2021
The woods are very quiet now. The nesting season for our local birds has wrapped up and there is no need for birds to be singing. On a recent bird walk (join Maine Audubon every Thursday at 7 a.m. for a free bird walk at Gilsland Farm in Falmouth) we heard some birds singing, but they were horrible at it. That leads us to a commonly asked question: “What’s the deal with these untalented singing birds in the fall?” Innate learners often have very basic songs and sound identical across the species. Others that have learned their song through experience, are the ones we’re interested in just now. By practicing, these juvenile birds will eventually learn how to sound like an adult. ~ Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox.