On a calm day in autumn, you can hear the sound of leaves littering the forest floor. On certain summer days, there’s the soft rain of caterpillars pooping. Today a walk outside is accompanied by the plop of clumps of snow, at least those that don’t hit branches on the way down and dissipate in a spray of white.

The morning when most of that snow was deposited on the trees, a titmouse was bravely singing “peter peter peter” among the steady flakes. Birds don’t need to check their shadows to know that spring is coming. They have an internal calendar which is calibrated by the shortening night lengths. Late February sees an increase in bird song, that special vocalizing which birds use to secure territories and attract mates.


[Black-capped chickadee]

The chickadee song of “fee-bee-bee” and “fee-bee” joins the myriad of other vocalizations made by this chatty species. It can be sung year-round by both sexes, but the main use is by males in the breeding season.


[Red-bellied woodpecker]

Woodpeckers drum instead of singing.


[Red-tailed hawk]

Red-tailed hawks use aerial displays for courtship and territorial tasks.