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Rating: 
Summary: Excellent bird song guide
Review: By grouping bird song according to characteristics, this clear guide makes it easier to learn and be able to identify bird song. The method of grouping similar types of songs on the CD, along with the brief, written guide enclosed, enables you to locate and identify birds you hear in the field much more easily than guides that simply list songs in order of the species' appearance in bird guides. Songs and calls are both included, as well as variations, which is very helpful as birds have "dialects" and variations in song patterns just like people of different areas have.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent bird song guide
Review: By grouping bird song according to characteristics, this clear guide makes it easier to learn and be able to identify bird song. The method of grouping similar types of songs on the CD, along with the brief, written guide enclosed, enables you to locate and identify birds you hear in the field much more easily than guides that simply list songs in order of the species' appearance in bird guides. Songs and calls are both included, as well as variations, which is very helpful as birds have "dialects" and variations in song patterns just like people of different areas have.
Rating:
Summary: Great work out CD
Review: I listen to these CDs while working out at the gym and boy did it pay off. While on vacation last summer in Vermont I could identify almost every bird call I heard without even trying. My ears would prick up at every sound of a bird and I would know what it was. It's a great feeling to take a walk in the woods or to garden in your back yard and know who is out there with you without fumbling with your binoculars. These are excellent CDs.
Rating:
Summary: Great learning tool for birders....
Review: If you wish to broaden your bird-identification skills and gain an advantage in telling birds apart by song, this audio guide is perfect for you. The birds in this guide are grouped together based on the similarities of their calls, as well as habitat preferences. By doing this, the authors of this guide have allowed the learner to compare similar sounding species likely to be confuse in the field. Richard Walton's clear voice introduces each species and walks the listener through the various groupings. Throughout, he points out key characteristics of each bird call to enhance the listener's learning experince. The birds featured in each group on this three disc set include many familar eastern North American species. The eastern woodpeckers, several confusing sparrow species, buetos, tanagers and several other neotropical migrants are featured on the first disc. The second features several owl species and a variety of flycatchers among others. The third CD is comprised mostly of neotropical songbirds and a few odds and ends species: common eastern warblers, thrushes, plus American bittern. The third disc also includes a several groupings of birds that allows the listener's to test their bird vocalization identification skills. Along with the CDs, a complementry booklet with surprisingly good black-and-white illistrations is included. This helps the birder make visual assocations with the species they are hearing. Room is provided on each page for the listener to take notes on the various bird vocalizations. Page numbers for locating the birds on the plates in the PETERSON FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS: EASTERN/CENTRAL REGION are also provided in the booklet. Overall, this three-CD set serves as a nice introduction/learning tool to the voices of Eastern North America's birds. It allows the learner to broaden his or her bird identifiaction skills. It is especially useful for beginners, but experienced enthusiats may also find the guide highly useful in comparing bird calls. A great buy.
Rating:
Summary: "Who cooks for you?"
Review: Listening to this 3-CD set for the first time, I cycled through an entire manic-depressive episode. The depression occurred early on the first CD, track 4--"Sing-Songers." If there was one bird song I thought I knew it was the American Robin's cheerful warble. Now I learn that there are three other birds that sound EXACTLY like the robin to me: the Scarlet Tanager; the Summer Tanager; and the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak. Oh no! I'm going to have to listen to these CDs a hundred times before I can even be confident of the robin again. Later that same night, as I was crawling moodily into bed, I cranked open the window and heard a series of low hoots that sounded like, "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you?"--Instant mood swing. I lay there grinning in the dark, because I had just identified a Barred Owl. He sounded exactly like he did on these CDs. There is something so satisfying about being able to identify a song or a flower or even an animal track, as a reminder of the lives being lived around us--some of them very strange and beautiful. You will be amazed the first time you step outside after listening to these CDs, by how the orchestra of bird song begins to sort itself out into individual instruments. I was able to identify the Song Sparrow and the Oven Bird--two shy, unseen songsters that had been puzzling me for years. Each of the tracks in this CD set contains narration as well as bird calls and bird song. Birds are grouped on a track based on similarity of song, which is why you'll find the Mourning Dove on the Owl track. According to the narrator, many people mistake them for owls. At the end of the third CD, bird songs and calls are grouped together by habitat. To test yourself, listen to the birds and try to recognize them without referring to the accompanying text insert. I averaged round three out of ten correct identifications per group, but I expect to do better as I replay these fascinating CDs. Added benefit: this 'Guide to Birdsong Identification' will bewitch any resident cats. One of mine is perched on the CD player right now, trying to peer into a speaker.
Rating:
Summary: "Who cooks for you?"
Review: Listening to this 3-CD set for the first time, I cycled through an entire manic-depressive episode. The depression occurred early on the first CD, track 4--"Sing-Songers." If there was one bird song I thought I knew it was the American Robin's cheerful warble. Now I learn that there are three other birds that sound EXACTLY like the robin to me: the Scarlet Tanager; the Summer Tanager; and the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak. Oh no! I'm going to have to listen to these CDs a hundred times before I can even be confident of the robin again. Later that same night, as I was crawling moodily into bed, I cranked open the window and heard a series of low hoots that sounded like, "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you?"--Instant mood swing. I lay there grinning in the dark, because I had just identified a Barred Owl. He sounded exactly like he did on these CDs. There is something so satisfying about being able to identify a song or a flower or even an animal track, as a reminder of the lives being lived around us--some of them very strange and beautiful. You will be amazed the first time you step outside after listening to these CDs, by how the orchestra of bird song begins to sort itself out into individual instruments. I was able to identify the Song Sparrow and the Oven Bird--two shy, unseen songsters that had been puzzling me for years. Each of the tracks in this CD set contains narration as well as bird calls and bird song. Birds are grouped on a track based on similarity of song, which is why you'll find the Mourning Dove on the Owl track. According to the narrator, many people mistake them for owls. At the end of the third CD, bird songs and calls are grouped together by habitat. To test yourself, listen to the birds and try to recognize them without referring to the accompanying text insert. I averaged round three out of ten correct identifications per group, but I expect to do better as I replay these fascinating CDs. Added benefit: this 'Guide to Birdsong Identification' will bewitch any resident cats. One of mine is perched on the CD player right now, trying to peer into a speaker.
Rating:
Summary: "Who cooks for you?"
Review: Listening to this 3-CD set for the first time, I cycled through an entire manic-depressive episode. The depression occurred early on the first CD, track 4--"Sing-Songers." If there was one bird song I thought I knew it was the American Robin's cheerful warble. Now I learn that there are three other birds that sound EXACTLY like the robin to me: the Scarlet Tanager; the Summer Tanager; and the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak. Oh no! I'm going to have to listen to these CDs a hundred times before I can even be confident of the robin again. Later that same night, as I was crawling moodily into bed, I cranked open the window and heard a series of low hoots that sounded like, "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you?"--Instant mood swing. I lay there grinning in the dark, because I had just identified a Barred Owl. He sounded exactly like he did on these CDs. There is something so satisfying about being able to identify a song or a flower or even an animal track, as a reminder of the lives being lived around us--some of them very strange and beautiful. You will be amazed the first time you step outside after listening to these CDs, by how the orchestra of bird song begins to sort itself out into individual instruments. I was able to identify the Song Sparrow and the Oven Bird--two shy, unseen songsters that had been puzzling me for years. Each of the tracks in this CD set contains narration as well as bird calls and bird song. Birds are grouped on a track based on similarity of song, which is why you'll find the Mourning Dove on the Owl track. According to the narrator, many people mistake them for owls. At the end of the third CD, bird songs and calls are grouped together by habitat. To test yourself, listen to the birds and try to recognize them without referring to the accompanying text insert. I averaged round three out of ten correct identifications per group, but I expect to do better as I replay these fascinating CDs. Added benefit: this 'Guide to Birdsong Identification' will bewitch any resident cats. One of mine is perched on the CD player right now, trying to peer into a speaker.
Rating:
Summary: Repetition & field work are the key to this CD.
Review: When I first received this CD I was disappointed & overwhelmed. I thought, how could I possibly learn any of these bird calls (I'm 50 years old). It seemed like a monumental task. Well, I kept listening over and over (thinking the mnemonics were silly) and low and behold things started to click. I made a few forays into the field and was very excited when I heard bird calls and the mnemonics made sense. I still get excited when I'm able to identify a bird by song or call. I even find myself doing it on TV commercials. This CD isn't any good if you don't include field work with it. Practice, practice, practice and one day you will be out in the field and hear a bird and know exactly what you are looking for. This CD has made me a much better birder.
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