Drawing Bird Song (Video)

How can we draw bird songs?

It’s May and at the midpoint of spring. For us, seeing bluebird nestlings and the return of tree swallows marks a change in the season.

To help our our native birds, two years ago we installed bluebird nest boxes. This is the first year that a pair was successful at raising a chicks.

When I last checked, the baby birds were fully feathered and almost ready to leave the nest.

As I approached the nestbox, I heard gentle chirping “diyr,.. diyr,.. diyr” coming from inside the wooden box, mounted on a post.

Right away, the adult birds, perched on a nearby telephone line, responded. They may have felt I was too close to the nest They called out loudly and urgently “Diyr!…Diyr!…Diyr!”

And in response, the chicks immediately fell silent. The warning calls of the parent must have translated to something like: “shhh-danger- be still and quiet!”

Sounds might me tricky to put on the page. “How can we draw sound?” you might ask.

I’ve been experimenting and creating different ways to represent bird sounds in my nature journal. Its a great way to learn the songs of birds, too. I want to share them with you so you can add depth to your page with sounds.