Posts Tagged ‘birdsong’
soundscape and birdsong
These last two weeks have been fun for bird watchers. I saw my first dark-eyed junco, just back from a winter spent to the south. I also heard that lovely, impossible-to-imitate song of a winter wren. And I have cleaned up our feeding area so the spring birds will be easier to watch.
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This weekend, I am looking forward to talking with other bird watchers about my new poetry book ‘mnemonic – soundscape and birdsong.’
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I am looking forward to the event, hosted by the folks at the L.P Fisher Public Library, who have been so supportive of my writing through the years! Wish you could come and hear me read …
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All my best!
Jane
book reading and signing
This week I am preparing for a launch of my new book ‘mnemonic – soundscape and birdsong’ at Westminster Bookmark in Fredericton. The poems are enjoyable to read and I look forward to talking about one of my favourite topics – birdsong!
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Preparation means thinking about what I will say, choosing the poems to read within the time given and deciding what to wear. It also means letting you all know about the reading.
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As you can see, I will be reading with another author whom I have never met: Christine Higdon. Her book title is fascinating and I am looking forward to reading her story of four Vancouver sisters in the 1920s. Reading with another author is great: it introduces you to someone you may not know and their books. It means the audience is treated to two readings instead of one. And it usually increases numbers of listeners.
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My talk will focus on the idea of using mnemonics to remember bird songs and calls. Mnemonic means ‘a pattern of letters, ideas, or associations that assists in remembering something.’ Mnemonics are a well-know way of identifying bird calls.
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This idea has been with me as long as I can remember. When my Mom heard a white throated sparrow, she would always answer with, ‘I love dear Canada, Canada, Canada.’ And I have always known the chick-a-dee by its name-sake call. In later years I have come to love some particular mnemonics and the birds they help identify: ‘who cooks for you?’ by the barred owl, ‘yank, yank, yank’ by the white-breasted nuthatch and ‘whirr-zip!’ by the northern parole warbler. A bird call I have never heard is the ‘cheer, cheer, cheer, purty, purty, purty’ of the northern cardinal – I have never seen a cardinal either! What are your favourite (or unique) bird call mnemonics?
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Some of the best sources for mnemonics are Audubon Vermont https://vt.audubon.org/sites/default/files/bird_song_mnemonics.pdf and Stanford (South Bay Birders Unlimited) https://web.stanford.edu/~kendric/birds/birdsong.html a great place to listen to various bird songs is All About Birds https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/browse/topic/sounds-songs/
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I am looking forward to the opportunity to read and talk to the audience on Sunday! Hope to see you there. And hope to hear an afternoon chorus of bird song mnemonics from the audience!
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All my best,
Jane
new poetry book: ‘mnemonic’ …
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spring orchestra – downy woodpecker
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sticky tongue, tail prop, zygodactyl feet
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beneath the key of chained song (chick-a-dee
whistle, robin melodic and whitethroat
mnemonic, wheezy phoebe, junco click) –
grubs mumble, coil in rotting wood
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beneath low woodwind, blazing brass and string –
jagged percussion and drum roll, Downy
Woodpecker excavates sugar maple
stump, black jackhammer
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beak throws wood chips, heaps sawdust and splinters
dapper shudders, black and white, a grey smudge
bright head-bars, a red blur, tap a stammer
steady stutter, busyspeak
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Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
nichepoetryandprose 