heard, but not seen

I solved an almost lifelong mystery today. There is a bird with a warbling, bubbling call, kind of like a trickle of water flowing in a rocky stream, up and down, back and forth. I remember hearing it often at Grandma and Grandpa's lake place. Since there were abundant house wrens there, and their call was similar, I just assumed in my young mind that it was a variation of the house wren's call.

This spring, when I had lived at our place long enough to know the soundscape, I realized that this bird's call was part of it. I also realized that there were more and more birds that I may have heard but had never seen. I had never put my house wren hypothesis to the test; this bird could be something new and different.

Last night I heard a bird call once, a strange melodic whistle in the moonlight. I tried to keep it in my mind long enough to check on eNature BirdAudio when I got to my computer at work. Unfortunately I did not find out what this bird was, but in the course of clicking on various birds I suddenly heard something familiar--the warbling vireo. That warbling, bubbly song. That's it! One more name to add to the multitude of living things that share my home. Although it is only heard, not yet seen, it exists and that thrills me.

Other birds heard but not (or only rarely) seen:

Red eyed vireo
Veery
Sedge wren
Ruby crowned kinglet
American redstart
Black and white warbler
Song sparrow
Yellowthroat
Least flycatcher
Alder flycatcher
Ovenbird
who knows how many more?

And for those who "enjoy" nature by racing through it on their four wheelers, I say how can you enjoy nature when you don't even stop to hear it?