Flight Calls, An Aid to Migration Watching

Flight Calls, An Aid To Migration Watching

Skylark

A short rippling "prrip" or "cherrip"


Wood Lark:

an obvious repeated at intervals "weel - a - woo".... as the bird flies across the sky.... heard in various forms.



Sand Martin

Dry unmusical rasping "chrrt chrrt chirrrr"

Swallow

A repeated short "fit fit" or "slif-it" OR "SWIT-SWIT"

House Martin

Short dry scratchy "prrit-prri-tit"

Tree Pipit

A loud buzzy "tzees" OR "TZEEEZ"

Meadow Pipit

A thin "tseep tseep tsip"

White Wagtail

Less sharp than Grey Wag "ziti", "zilipp", or "zittip" at rate of one call
per undulation.

Note: Pied and White Wagtails are not reliably separated on call? So best lumped together as "alba wagtails"

Pied Wagtail

A hard "chissick"

Grey Wagtail

A single "tchi" or "tisik" OR "TIT" OR "TITTIT" much sharper than
pied/white.

Yellow Wagtail

Loud, full rising "tsweep"

Waxwing

Shrill, vibrant "shrrreee"
Have seen this described as "shrill" elsewhere but shrill to me implies something perhaps piercing or unpleasant yet it is such as soft and delightfully warm sound. Others have described it as a high-pitched tremolo. "shrrreee" perhaps also implies change of tone - louder at the end - but in reality the end is normally a gentle fade-out, perhaps "sriiiiiiii" or "s-r-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i"?
Dunnock

A sharp strong "teee", Flight call on migration a ringing, shivering, very thin "tehehehe"

Fieldfare

Nazal "whee-ee" and loud throaty "chack ack ack" OFTEN COMBINES TO FORM THE PHRASE "WEET TSACK TSACK"

Ring Ouzel

A loud "tuk" OR "TCHACK". Also:  Flight call, just like a high ringing fieldfare (as we both equated it to) and repeated several times loud and far carrying.... A cross between an hysterical Green Woodpecker and Fieldfare

Redwing

A distinctive THIN penetrating "seeei", OFTEN HEARD AFTER DARK ON MISTY EVENINGS

Blackbird

A soft vibrant shrill "srreeee"

Song Thrush

A soft sharp "sip"

Mistle Thrush

Rasping football rattle "trr-trr-trrrrr-zrrr"

Coal Tit

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Long-tailed Tit

Yellowhammer

Explosive "tswik" OR TJIT

Reed Bunting

A full DOWNWARD slurred "seoo", a very thin high "see"

Lapland Bunting

A hard dull "tiki dik dik" often followed by a sweet whistled "teuu"

Snow Bunting

A single full "teuw" and sometimes a soft rippling "tiriririririririrp"

Chaffinch

A single simple soft "chup"

Brambling

Harder than Chaffinch in flight "tep" [RESEMBLING A DISTANT JACKDAW] and a FAR-CARRYING nasal twangy "zwaink" OR "DZWEEEK"

Greenfinch

Similar IN TONE to Chaffinch "jup" BUT ALWAYS UTTERED IN A FAST MACHINE GUN TWITTER

Siskin

Bright pure ringing whistles "tsy-zee" or "tiu"

Hawfinch
Subject: Redwing fellow travellers
Keep an eye out for Hawfinch - I think we might miss em cos their flight call 'seep' is so thrush-like! Again, this year they've turned up with Redwings. Specifically looked out for this at Spurn and saw one drop out of sky with a Redwing flock.
Mick


Goldfinch

Liquid lilting slurred "swit wit wit" mixed into trilling song.

Bullfinch

A single piping whistle "pooow"

Twite

A nasal twangy "twaai-it" OR "ZHWEEET"

Linnet

A light twittering chatter "tich-ich-ich twit up up"

Redpoll

Metallic rhythmic stuttering "chuchuchuchuchuch" INTERSPERSED WITH ZHWEEE NOTES - "CHUCH UCH UCH, ZHWEEE"

Crossbill

A loud far carrying "jip jip jip"

House Sparrow

Tree Sparrow

Starling

Jay

Magpie

Jackdaw

Rook

Carrion Crow

Raven



Good listening
Dave (C) 2007 Dave Barker