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pishing



In response to:

"Barbara Brooks wrote, jokingly, I'm sure, that her "pishing" usually makes
the birds leave!  Just what sound should we try for? Perhaps a distress
call.  Should we try to sound like a scolding mockingbird or just buzz or
what? Do you actually make a "pishing" sound? Should it be loud or soft? I
have no success calling birds because I really don't know what sound to try
to imitate. I'd welcome any sound you experienced pishers can write via
e-mail.  Just give me some idea!

Put out a hummingbird feeder this morning and had a rubythroat right away!
We have several bright red azaleas in full bloom (as well as others with
less color) and can count on seeing hummers as soon the red ones bloom.

Lucille Lentz
ljl@etinternet.net"


Try to sound like a Tufted Titmouse or a chickadee. The standard 
dogma on pishing is that migrating birds like to join in with local 
mixed species flocks, which presumably know where the good food is 
hiding. Titmice and chickadees are the local experts, and their buzzy 
calls often attract various migrants. Go find your local titmouse and 
try to imitate the cadence of their calls (not the loud, whistled 
song). When birds come in to pishing, they seem more curious than 
concerned, in stark contrast to their approach to loud squeaking, 
which sounds like something's been caught by a predator. In that 
case, the birds come in scolding, crests raised, and obviously 
agitated. While it seems counter-intuitive for birds to approach a 
predator, it actually increases their chance of survival. Predators 
almost always catch their prey by surprise and if a bird knows 
there's a predator around, it's much better off if it knows exactly 
where that predator is than if it doesn't.

Rob Bierregaard,
Charlotte
-- 

Rob Bierregaard

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