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I'm not only being taught but it is very relaxing. I'm a learner by repetition and this audio series makes that possible. ASIN:0618225900 Birding by Ear: Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guides(R)I've always enjoyed watching and listening to our feathered friends however my identification was limited to visual. This audio series is an excellent way to learn and remember bird songs. I have a substantial commute to work and can listen as I ride. Looking forward to spring and putting what I've learned to use out in the field.
Great item. Good for listening to in your car. My wife loves it and we have used it to learn our birds in Alabama.
Since I listen to these disks on my PC on the patio or my PDA & my MP3 player when I'm out walking or in the car, that is not convenient for me. The disks are quite good for helping you learn the differences between similar-sounding species. I never knew, for instance, that robins and scarlet tanagers sound so similar. This is a good set of disks that groups bird songs by some feature of similarity. I bought it in combination with the "Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs: Eastern Region" and am much more pleased with the combination than I would have been with this set alone.Mind you, having the disks does not guarantee species identification. Keep after it and you will learn to distinguish Carolina from black-capped chickadees.That said, I would not want this for my only set of bird songs, because if you want to listen to a specific bird, it's too hard to find without the booklet in your hands. At this moment I'm sitting at the PC with the window to my suburban back yard open, listening to a low "chuck-chuck-chuck-chuck-chuck" that I canNOT find on either set of disks.
Most of the birds are pretty common so you are bound to hear at least some of them if you just walk around outside. I never write reviews for anything, but on this particular product, I felt like the makers really needed to be commended for sharing their knowledge in such a thorough and extremely effective fashion. Also, if you have kids, their jaws will drop listening to the intriguing sounds. My favorite ones to listen to are the Pileated Woodpecker, the Bobolink, the Red-Shouldered Hawk and the Barred Owl. Can you tell I'm impressed. I appreciated the fact that their main objective was really to teach effectively, not just to put a CD together that would make money. Real quality seems so rare these days. But it was a great surprise to get all this extra information.
He educates you, but doesn't include any unnecessary "filler" information, only what is important and what will really matter out in the field. One time I started my car while the CD was in, and I didn't realize it was starting to play.I got really excited because I thought I heard a White-Throated Sparrow loud and clear right by my car, so I frantically screamed to my son that one must be RIGHT NEXT TO US SOMEWHERE. The narrator gives you a "handle" on each bird song so you can remember it easily, and he gives great suggestions on how to devise your own handles. My mom gave it to me and I couldn't believe how easy it made recognizing a LOT of different bird songs and calls. The Bobolink sounds like a spastic alien computer switchboard. These 4 birds sound extremely bizarre and you will probably laugh your head off at the sounds they make.
The Veery is unbelievably weird and haunting, and the Eastern Meadowlark and Northern Cardinal are really beautiful. Before I listened to it, I thought the narration would just be someone saying, "This is the Orchard Oriole" with a short snippet of what one sounds like, then on to the next bird. Similar-sounding birds don't seem confusing after he explains the differences to listen for. Believe it or not, after several seconds you actually do start to forget what you just heard, but it was uncanny how at the very moment I'd start to forget, it would repeat, and that was very satisfying. He also repeats the songs several times so you don't have to constantly rewind, and he pauses for just the right amount of time between repetitions; I found that I learned the calls pretty fast if I had the right number of seconds to consider each one.
but then I realized it was the CD and I was so embarrassed. They obviously spent a lot of time deciding what to include, how to arrange everything, and how to explain everything to a novice so that they would understand. I recently got interested in birding a few months ago and asked for this CD set for my birthday. Also I wanted to mention that the audio quality is absolutely superb. You'll be way more excited about birding after you listen to these CDs.
There are lots of different song categories which are separated and easy to find if you are looking for a certain one.
this cd is as expected, no surprise,no complaints.a good selection of birds have been packed into this.
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