The more I photograph birds, the more I am amazed by their beauty, complexity, color, and the details of their differences and similarities. I hope you enjoy studying this collection of four headshots of a Blue Jay, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, a molting female Northern Cardinal, and a male House Finch.
Primary Bird: Brown-headed Cowbird, (Molothrus ater)
Recording Date and Time: May, 28, 2025, 6:34 AM CST
Location: Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, USA
Sound Snippet: 21 seconds
Microphone: Apple iPhone 8+
Recorder App: Merlin Bird ID
Recording Notes: The Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) recorded at 6:34 AM (CST) on 05/28/2025 in Ruston, Louisiana with Merlin Bird ID on Apple iPhone 8+.
Audio Processing Notes: Processed on 10/13/2025 with Audacity 3.7.5 on 2021 MacBook Pro. Normalize -3.0 dB, High Pass Filter 1100Hz at 36 dB Roll-off, Low Pass Filter 12Khz at 36 dB Roll-Off, Apple AuGraphicEQ with “Lawn” config, 3-second fade in and out. Background birds include Carolina Wren, Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, and Blue Jay. The bird perched on a shepherd’s hook above a feeder for about a minute, then flew.
This little buddy posed on a fence just long enough …
I was lucky on a beautiful morning this week to take photos of Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa), a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon), and an Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga), which, is more commonly called a Water Turkey, Swamp Turkey, Snake Bird, or Devil Bird.
What Wood Ducks, Belted Kingfishers, and Anhingas have in common is that they are found in and near water. Fortunate to have a few hours alone beside a hidden pond in north central Louisiana, I enjoyed taking these photos.
Community parks are great places to take photos of birds because the birds are often accustomed to people. These are photos taken during a mid-September walk around the Lincoln Parish Park pond.
Pileated Woodpecker – Birdsongs and Recording Notes
1. Pileated Woodpecker
Primary Bird: Pileated Woodpecker, (Dryocopus pileatus)
Date and Time: January 3, 2024, 12:45 PM CST
Location: Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, USA
Sound Snippet: 4 minutes, 17 seconds
Microphone: Apple iPhone 8+
Recorder App: Merlin Bird ID
Position: The Pileated Woodpecker was hidden in trees northeast of the lawn, about 150 feet from the recording position. I believe the bird was fussing at a squirrel. Carolina Chickadee and Northern Cardinals are incidental and closer.
Audio Processing: Denoised for wind and traffic with SpectraLayer 11.0.50. Normalized to -3.0dB, equalized with AppleEQ, removed the sound of dogs barking and added fades in and out with Audacity 3.7.1 on 2021 Macbook Pro.
Red-shouldered Hawk – Photo, Call, and Recording Notes
Primary Bird: Red-shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus
Date and Time: September 2, 2024, 6:53 AM CST
Location: Outdoor Wilderness Learning Center, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, USA
Sound Snippet: 78 seconds
Microphone: Sennheiser ME66 shotgun mic
Recorder: Zoom F3
Position: Recording of a Red-shouldered Hawk’s first calls of the morning on 9/2/2024 as it flew above the larger OWL Center pond.
Audio Processing: Lightly processed with Audacity 3.7.0 on 2021 MacBook Pro. High Pass Filter 800Hz at 12 dB Roll-off, Low Pass Filter 10kHz at 12 dB Roll-off, and 2-second fades in and out.
Northern Mockingbird – Birdsongs and Recording Notes
Primary Bird: Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos
Date and Time: April 16, 2024, 5:08 AM CST
Location: Lawn, Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, USA
Sound Snippet: 197 seconds
Microphone: Apple iPhone 8+ microphone
Recorder: Apple iPhone 8+ and Merlin Bird ID
Position: Lawn recording of a single Mockingbird on a limb at the top of a fig tree, the first birdsong of the day, at 5:08 AM on 04/16/2024 with
Audio Processing: Recorded with Merlin Bird ID on Apple iPhone 8+. Processed with Audacity 3.7.0 on 2021 MacBook Pro. High Pass Filter 1000Hz at 24 dB Roll-off, 2-second fades in and out.
Other Birds in Recording: Purple Martin, Progne subis, softly.
Primary Bird: Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor
Date and Time: May 5, 2024, 5:00 PM CST
Location: Lawn, Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, USA
Sound Snippet: 121 seconds
Microphone: Sennheiser ME-66
Recorder: Zoom F3
Position: This is a mono recording of a Tufted Titmouse calling from a tree on the wooded edge of a lawn on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at 5:00 PM. Skies were partly cloudy, and temp was 78F.
Audio Processing: Recorded with a Sennheiser ME-66 microphone and a Zoom F3 recorder. 32-bit float audio was processed with Audacity by normalized at -3.0dB, an Apple EQ configuration designed for the site was applied, followed by a Low Pass Filter at 18Khz/12dB, with five-second fades in and out.
Other Birds in Recording: Carolina Wren, Thryothorus ludovicianus, Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis
Primary Bird: Common Nighthawk, Chordeiles minor
Date and Time: September 29, 2023, 6:29 AM CST
Location: Lawn, Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, USA
Sound Snippet: 69.2 seconds
Microphone: Handheld K1 mic with parabolic reflector
Recorder: Apple iPhone 8+
Position: During the first 30 seconds, unseen in the dark, the Common Nighthawk is in a tree on the far side of a clearing about 180 feet distant. Then, during an 8-second silence, the bird flies to a tree further into the woods making the last 30 seconds quieter.
Audio Processing: Recorded with Merlin Bird ID on iPhone 8+, using a handheld K1 mic with parabolic reflector, and edited with OcenAudio. Clipped from longer track, normalized -3dB, highpass filter at 2,015 Hz, 40 dB rolloff/decade, passband attenuation 3dB.
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