Nature Connection: Raising Our Voices

Every morning, I get up very early. For most of the year I am up before the sun, but in early summer the sky is light when I rise. The sun isn’t always up above the horizon, but it’s thinking about it. Now, though, I am up well before the sun. For those wondering, I get up around 5 a.m. I no longer have a busy schedule and never use an alarm so some days are earlier or later, but not by much.

The light isn’t the only thing that changes with the seasons. The sounds change as well. In spring and early summer, the birds are singing even before dawn. Cardinals are often the first, their songs greeting me before I’m out of bed. The robins are next, then the catbirds. As the sun comes up the rest of the birds join in, and it can get pretty noisy out there as they all raise their voices to greet the day.

They aren’t really greeting, of course. They are declaring their spaces, letting others know they are available for pairing up, and then announcing it all to the world. Some sing all summer, but others are noticeably quiet while there are babies in the nest.

Once the young have fledged, you’ll hear the quiet conversations between parents and young as they stay in touch. Moms are calling “Here, here, here!” The young are a bit more boisterous in their calling “WHERE? WHERE? WHERE?” This is a dangerous time for the young, but they learn within days to quiet themselves.

Squirrels and chipmunks do the same thing, and if you’re lucky you may even see and hear weasels or mice doing it, too. 

Spring and early summer are when the frogs and toads are making a ruckus as well. Snakes and turtles rarely make any noise, and deer and rabbits are quiet, too. Coyotes are famous for their vocals, especially late in the winter as they declare territories and start to pair up. You may be hearing them again now as the packs hunt together. The youngsters are still learning, and much of the yipping and howling you may hear is just them communicating with their elders as they try to figure things out.

These days it’s pretty quiet when I get up, though I have a very noisy Carolina wren that greets the dawn very loudly. Even in the dark before dawn I often hear gulls calling overhead as they head toward the beach for their morning meals. Crows are also chatty in the early mornings as they gather and share the latest crow gossip.

One of the most interesting aspects of bird vocalization is the way some species utter what can easily be called warning calls. Crows and bluejays are especially loud when they find a predator lurking, and as one calls out an alarm, others often fly in to help spook the predator into leaving. They may spy a cat, a hawk, even a dog or coyote and will raise their voices to let everyone within hearing range know there is danger afoot or a-wing.

Even though the warning calls often activate other birds and animals that have learned to respond to the frantic calling of these birds, it’s probably not the intent of the crows or bluejays. They’re just letting the predator know it’s not welcome in the neighborhood. If you watch one of these transactions, you’ll see other birds and even squirrels watching and sometimes joining in the noise, but from farther away. Birds such as catbirds and orioles often remain on the outer fringes, but surprisingly, for me anyway, robins are quite bold and often get as close as the bluejays.

Does all the yelling work? I have no exact scientific evidence, but from my own observations I’d have to say that it works a lot of the time. The hawk or cat or coyote is often successfully chased off. If nothing else, all the racket makes everyone, animal and human alike, well aware of the location of the predator. This, of course, means that the predator, now exposed, has lost its chance of sneaking up on any prey. It is not unusual to see them either slink or fly away. When this happens, all the birds go back to their own business, though often at least one crow can be seen watching for any chance of return.

This raising of voices is an effective way of deterring danger and maintaining peace. It is a lesson for us, right here in our own backyards. Raising an individual voice is a good thing. Raising our voices with others as we defend ourselves, our beliefs, and the rights of all is a very good thing. It’s time to raise our crow and bluejay voices, in unison, to let the hawks know we are watching them and will defend against them.