Expert: Julia Booth - 8/4/2010

Question
QUESTION: I live in Florida. There is a bird that makes the sound "tweety bird, tweety bird, tweety bird." I never see it, just hear it... What bird is it?

ANSWER: Florida has more species of birds than almost every other state in the US, the exceptions being California and (I want to say) Minnesota, because it's such a versatile environment. That being said, it's hard for me to ID a bird, based on such limited info, unless we find some way to narrow the search.

So first, it would help me to know where in Florida you live. The name of the county is fine. Zip code would be better. But I understand if you'd rather not share that.

Next I need you to answer a few questions.

1. Where do you hear this bird? Are you at work, at home, or at some nearby park?

2. What sort of environment would you say it is?(urban, rural etc.)

3. Are you by the ocean, by a river or lake, or is it more of a woodsy area with trees?

4. If there are trees, what kind are they? If you don't know, that's okay. Do any of the trees have any fruit or blossoms on them?

5. What time of day do you hear this bird?

6. Does it sound like there's just one bird singing at a time, or could he...there be more? If there are more, estimate how many.

7. How often do you hear this bird. How many times a day, week, month?

8. How loud is it?

9. Does it sound close or far away?

Just answer whichever ones you can an we will go from there,

Julia

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I live in Marion County Florida, 34482. I here it both in town and in the country. I am not by any body of water. There are mostly Oak Trees around here. I never really paid attention to the time of day, but i would say Afternoon-ish. I only here one bird at a time, it always says "tweety bird" 3 times, pauses a few seconds and then starts over, and only does it a couple of times.I only here it every once in a while, but that doesnt mean it doesnt sing. I think it is pretty loud, it usually sounds close. Thank you

Answer
Only you know for sure what you heard, and your description is still rather vague. The way that you might describe what you heard probably differs greatly from how I'd describe it, even though it's the same sound, if that makes sense. So it's possible that based on your description, I will be unable to give you a 100% positive ID.

That being said, I basically went through a complete list of birds found in and around Marion County, and listened to sound bytes for any species that I thought might meet your description.

I have narrowed it down to a few possibilities. But at this point, I think it would be more helpful to give you some resources that might help you ID the bird yourself.

Some possibilities are: Carolina Wren, Carolina Chickadee and Golden-Crowned Sparrow. These birds are known for being seen more than heard and their songs are similar to what you have described.

A few resources that might help you:

Here is the website for birding in your area (although they do not currently have a check list posted)

http://www.marioncountyaudubon.com

Department of Agriculture - Florida (I think this one may have a statewide checklist)

http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/florida

Wiki checklist - birds of Florida (Not 100% accurate, but still decent)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_Florida

Sound bytes for most north American birds

http://enature.com/birding/audio.asp

I wish I could help you more. I hate not being able to give someone a definite answer. Let me know if there's more I can do for you.


Julia