 Hello backyard naturalists. Here we are in southern Maine. It's the second half of March. You might be noticing a lot more birds around lately. Not only are we seeing species that are migrating back, but also birds are more detectable because they're starting to sing. In this video, I want to introduce you to some of the most common backyard bird songs that you can hear right now. So let's have a listen. To make this easier to hear, I spent some time around my yard with a microphone and a parabola and recorded a few species. Now we've got some recordings of these birds. Let's sit down at the computer. We can look at spectrograms, which are visual representations of the audio that we're hearing, and then also show you a picture and hopefully we'll be able to learn how to identify some of these birds. I'll be using Adobe Edition to show these recordings. Across the top, you may recognize the sound wave, which measures decibels. But across the bottom here is a spectrogram, which shows us frequency measured in hertz over time. Spectrograms allow us to see bird songs and may make understanding and talking about them easier. The first bird I want you to hear is a tufted tipmouse. These downslurred notes are incredibly loud, making it one of the easiest birds to hear, even at a long distance. You may even hear them in the background of later recordings. A common way to remember this song is the phrase cheer, cheer. Beware of variation. Here is that same bird giving a single phrase, a faster paired phrase, slower three phrases, then three rapid notes at a lower frequency. Our next bird you probably already know, the black-capped chickadee, named after its calls, chickadee-dee-dee. This time of year we can also hear their songs, a two-parted Phoebe. Be careful not to confuse us with our eastern Phoebe, who will be returning to your yard shortly, with their raspy Phoebe songs. Next we should learn the northern cardinal. The downslurred nature of these notes often confuses people with the tipmouse, but cardinals often give a longer series of notes. They remind me of a kid playing with a laser gun going tu-tu-tu-tu. You'll also be hearing the bouncier version of their songs in the spring, but notice how the quality of the notes are very similar. Next, my favorite herald of spring, the red-winged blackbird. Nothing says warm days are coming like the male blackbirds. Conqueree! Often mixed in flocks of red-winged blackbirds, you'll find our last species, the common grackle. These birds have an amazing repertoire, often sounding like a rusty hinge or squeaky gate. They can dominate the soundscape when they descend in flocks by the hundreds. I hope this helped you learn some of the birds calling in your backyard. You can learn more and stay connected with Maine Audubon by visiting our website, www.maineaudubon.org