BIRDWATCHING ON THE WINGS OF SPRING

Along with the sounds of wildlife, the scent of the woods is noted by Allan Bornstein, who checks out a spice bush.

Maybe the key to bird-watching is listening. Birds are elusive, they move fast and easily get lost in the trees and bushes. So instead of scanning the trees randomly, listen.

Bill Eddleman listens before he looks. An ornithologist by trade and an associate professor of biology at Southeast Missouri State University, he likes to walk through the woods looking for birds.

On a cold April morning, he took a reporter for a trek through Twin Trees Park and adjacent Kelso Wildlife Sanctuary and Juden Creek Conservation Area.

When Eddleman heard "peter, peter, peter," he looked for a tufted titmouse. Although non-birders may not have heard of it, the tufted titmouse is a common bird, found all over the Eastern half of the United States.

Talking to an experienced birder like Eddleman can be like talking to an auto mechanic about some funny noise your car is making. Eddleman is expert at the nuances of bird calls, and enjoys sharing phrases that mimic them.

But one needn't have someone like Eddleman around to interpret the noises. Local book and record stores sell compact discs with bird calls on them, Eddleman said.

Listen for the call, then look for movement. Eddleman saw it darting from branch to branch on a tree.

The tufted titmouse is small -- the size of a sparrow, but its gray pointed head is shaped more like a cardinals' head than a sparrow's. And its black eyes are surrounded by enough white that they stand out more than most birds's eyes do.

Noticing details, the shape of the head, the setting of the eyes is a big part of bird watching. Dozens of species of birds live in or pass through Southeast Missouri and are there for anyone who cares to look for them.

A pair of binoculars is useful, Eddleman said, and it needn't be an expensive pair. Even a $30 pair available at discount stores will do.

Eddleman carries a field guide book with him. He recommends Roger Tory Peterson's "A Field Guide to the Birds."

Also walking through the woods that day is Amy Salveter, a conservation agent based at Cape County Park.

Salveter hears "Cheerup," followed by a pause, the "Cheerly," another pause and "Cheerio." She spots a red-eyed vireo with its long beak adapted for grabbing insects.

Eddleman told Salveter that hers is the first sighting of a red-eyed vireo in the area this spring. The vireo must have just arrived from somewhere in South America. They winter as far south as the Amazon basin, Eddeman said.

Salveter, incidentally recommends a different field guide: The National Geographic Field Guide to North American Birds.

Another recent arrival is the blue-gray gnatcatcher, revealed by its call, "Zee zee zee." It winters along the Gulf Coast as far away as Central America and the Caribbean, Eddleman said.

How does Eddleman know when a bird is first sighted?

"I have several students and bird watchers who report to me," he said. He belongs to the Missouri Bird Records Committee, which keeps track of such things.

This time of year is particularly good for looking for birds. Hundreds of thousands of birds that winter in the southern United States, in the Caribbean and in Central and South America migrate through the area. One might see a sandpiper headed beyond the Arctic Circle or a warbler headed for the northern forests of Canada.

Birds migrating north in North America follow four major flyways: the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, one roughly following the 100th meridian and the Mississippi River Valley, Eddleman said.

The migration gets particularly heavy at the end of April and into the first week and a half of May, Eddleman said.

On May 10, bird watchers all over the country will do the annual Spring Migration Counts. Locally, bird watchers survey the bird populations in Horseshoe Lake Wildlife Refuge in Alexander County and Mingo National Wildlife Refuge.

Beginners are welcome. Call Eddleman at 335-1507 if you are interested.