Bird & Nature Blog
A clutch of the latest stories from Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance
One of the most fabulous summer birds is certainly the Gray Catbird, who is doing a LOT of singing right now in southern Wisconsin. It makes a variety of sounds that are both silly and interesting, given that this bird is a relative of mockingbirds and thrashers — birds that are skilled mimics. Its song is a delightful gibberish of babbling noises, and its call is what gives it the name Catbird.
Photo by Dennis Church FCC
Nothing says “Spring is here!!” like the song of the American Robin. This common bird is many of our favorites for good reason. Its sounds are cheerful, familiar, and in Wisconsin synonymous with the arrival of warmer weather and springtime flowers. The American Robin makes a lot of different noises, and makes them often. It is a bird you are likely to hear on a daily basis, and once you commit their sounds to memory, you’ll be hearing them all over!
Photo by Arlene Koziol
No matter how many calls you hear and songs you listen to, the noises don’t always give you a sense for the shape and size of the bird. For folks who are blind or visually impaired, this shape and size mystery is a missing piece of the puzzle.
Enter: Patrick Collins. We reached out to the UW-Madison’s School of Human Ecology, which houses departments that are full of creative, innovative students whose expertise is to MAKE things. We asked them, “Can you help us make 3D birds?” Patrick, a graduate student, said yes.
Photo by Rowan Koester-Jess
