Spring Birdsong in the Arctic

BirdNote^®

Spring Birdsong in the Arctic

Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote.

Spring has reached the Arctic. Low-growing wildflowers carpet slopes of tundra, and arriving migratory birds begin to sing.

A sparrow-sized Lapland Longspur perches atop a short stem, showing off his rich black-colored face smartly outlined in rust and white. The longspur flaps upward 100 feet, then sings his languid song as he drifts slowly back to earth.

[Lapland Longspur song]

Within low bushes, a tiny pale finch with pink breast and red crown sings buzzy, jingling trills — a Hoary Redpoll. 

[Hoary Redpoll song]

Then, from a rocky outcrop a flashy white songbird with black wings shoots straight up in the air, before cutting loose his spirited phrases. 

[Snow Bunting song] 

This male Snow Bunting repeats his song flight every few minutes in his quest to attract a mate.

[Snow Bunting song] 

Finally, we hear a song of insect-like trills mixed with whistles and buzzes. 

[Bluethroat song]

It’s a beautiful male Bluethroat, his vivid azure throat, and upper breast rimmed with rust. The song presses on and on:  

[Bluethroat song] 

Spring has come to the Arctic. The bird’s voices make it known.

For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.

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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Lapland Longspur ML15178 recorded by Arthur A. Allen, Hoary Redpoll ML207109 recorded by Bob McGuire, and Snow Bunting ML203901731 recorded by Josep del Hoyo.
Bluethroat Xeno Canto 470426 recorded by Jérémy Simar.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2023 BirdNote May 2023
Narrator: Michael Stein

ID# tundra-03-2023-05-09        tundra-03