55. The thrill of dawn-singing Brewer’s sparrows.
7. When to Sing, and How
Energized dawn singing
From page 122 in the book.
The thrill of dawn-singing Brewer's sparrows. For the thrill of a lifetime (should be on every bird lover's bucket list), I encourage you to experience for yourself a live performance of dawn-singing Brewer's sparrows. Arrive with plenty of warm clothing at least 90 minutes before sunrise, set up a chair in the sagebrush, and get comfortable. About half a dozen males will soon be within earshot, all singing and calling continuously and simultaneously. In the dark, edge out of your chair and sidle closer to one bird, and just try to follow along. Collect some numbers as to how much he calls, how much he sings, how long the songs are—-whatever strikes your fancy. Or forget the numbers and just listen! Don't resist the urge to return on another morning or two. To get an eyeful of what you might experience, import ♫505 into Raven Lite and watch the 24 minutes documented there. We know almost nothing about what these sparrows are doing during the dawn chorus. A simple description of how the dawn performance changes through the breeding season would be most enlightening.