Writing daily is my method to learn about the Forest. Over the last year I have been slowly working on bird song recognition and probably have got a dozen species in the bag. It’s slow work at my age, the memory isn’t what it used to be. Like many, I use Merlin Bird ID to identify the songster, but that is not enough to retain the knowledge.
I employ a technique I’ve taught students over the decades: describe it in your own words. Now when I hear urgent piping from high, often after rainfall, I know it to be the Song Thrush, 𝑇𝑢𝑟𝑑𝑢𝑠 𝑝ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑠.
A close relative of the blackbird, it is known locally as the Grive musicienne or Zanlijster.