[CT Birds] Bird music

[Tom de Boor via CTBirds]

The last couple of months, as migration wound down and our winter birds
settled in, I've occasionally played human choral music with close
harmonies for the birds on Regional Water Authority land in Northford, just
to see what would happen, and wanted to share my experiences so far.

Song: Born To Be With You, The Chordettes

Response: 10-11 juncos and one cardinal, previously hidden, more or less
immediately popped up out of the brush. I fully expected them to fly away,
but instead they kept hopping higher and higher, first in the brush, then
nearby trees. The Cardinal and a couple of the Juncos ended up fairly high
up, directly overhead.

Song: There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart), Eurythmics, Annie
Lennox

Response: Initially, it seemed like the only bird around was a Blue Jay
making odd sounds, far enough away that it wasn't clear if it was
responding or even listening. Then I noticed two female Cardinals about 20
feet in front of me and 60 feet up in a tree, sitting quietly and looking
down. A male Cardinal appeared, and by flying at the females caused them to
fly, then a second male appeared, got into an altercation with the first
one, and one male fled with the other in hot pursuit. Shortly thereafter,
both females returned and appeared to be listening again.

Song: In Stiller Nacht (not Silent Night), an old German folk song,
beautifully arranged in four-part harmony by Pink Martini and the Von Trapp
Singers (grandchildren of the original)

Response: 4-5 titmice, 4-5 chickadees, 2 goldfinches, a Downy Woodpecker,
and a nuthatch flew in or approached almost as soon as I started playing
it. After about 30 seconds, one of the chickadees and an unseen Carolina
Wren (soon joined by a second) began singing in full voice (this on 12/31),
and continued to do so, one of the wrens continuing until I turned the
music off.

I'm assuming I'm not the only person who has done this. Wondering what the
experience of other members of the CT birding community has been if/when
you did...

Best, as always,

Tom de Boor
Northford, CT

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[Abby Sesselberg via CTBirds]

For folks interested in the relationship between birds and music, David
Rothenberg <https://davidrothenberg.wordpress.com/> travels the world
playing music with birds, whales, and all kinds of interesting things.
At the bottom of his homepage, you can see a list to access his work in
many formats,

-Abby Sesselberg
Guilford