Growing up on the edge of the countryside in North Staffordshire, I have always been familiar with the songs and calls of the most common birds and learned early on that the chaffinch announces that it is “pink, pink, pink” and that the yellow hammer informs us that it has “a little bit of bread and no … cheese”.  

However, it was only when I retired that I began to develop a real interest in birds. I joined the local RSPB group where the members were most generous in sharing their knowledge. My daughters bought me a CD guide of how to identify bird songs and calls, which I played in the car as background music. In very little time I found that by tuning in my ears as I was walking, I was able to pick out many different bird songs, and I began to be able to spot and identify the songsters. 

As time passed, I have learned to use various methods to help me. Some birds are easy as they announce their own names: the jack, jack, jackdaw, the cuckoo, chiffchaff and peewit (lapwing), while others have a clear message. For example, the wood pigeon moans “Two bags full Susan, two bags full” whereas the stock dove exclaims “Oh look, oh look”.  The mistle thrush asks questions, “Who are you? What do you think you are doing?” but the song thrush is determined to teach me its song by repeating each phrase at least three times!  

I have found that I compare the bird calls to other sounds. Some remind me of animal calls: the woodcock grunts and squeals like a pig, the buzzard miaows, the raven, which apparently has a wider vocabulary than any other bird, woofs, while others sound more human. The starling wolf whistles, a greenfinch wheezes, a green woodpecker gives a manic chortle but a mallard lets out a ribald guffaw! Some birds make very little sound, but I listen out for the sad half note of the bullfinch and the sharp intake of breath whispered by the tree creeper. My favourite of all is the joyous display of the tree pipit which launches itself from the top of a tree, opening its wings like a tiny shuttlecock, then cries “Whee, whee, wheeeee” as it descends to the ground, then rises back to the top of the tree ready to start all over again.  

Now I have the Merlin app on to my phone – it's a really good way of learning to identify birds. Is it really a wizard? It seems to do a similar job to my old CD. I used it to confirm that I really was hearing four different warblers at the same time, and it also alerted me to a party of siskin which I hadn’t noticed but were in the top of a tree some distance away – very impressive!  

 I think it is a useful tool for beginners wanting to learn what is around them, a confidence boost if you think you know what you can hear but are not sure, and an alert to the unexpected and unusual. But to walk through a wood at dawn in spring, and to tune in to nature and be able to pick out for yourself all the many different voices that make up that glorious chorus… Now that is real magic!