While it is still Spring, try stepping outside at 4:30 in the morning with a coffee and a cigar, and listen for 30 minutes. In a couple of weeks, most of that morning chorus will end as breeding season comes to a close.
You will hear the territorial calls of most of the birds in your neighborhood. These will mostly quiet down as the sun comes up and the birds get busy finding breakfast for themselves and/or their chicks.
If you are like me, you will not be able to identify all of those calls. As time goes on, I have become more determined to ID birds by song. It's tough for me because I have a tin ear. I still confuse the Oriole with the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak.
For beginners. Best to start with the easy ones. It is handy to tell a Wood Thrush from a Hermit Thrush. Also handy to know the "broken typewriter" Marsh Wren because, like thrushes (except Robins and Bluebirds) you hardly ever see them.
Here's Cornell Guide to Bird Sounds: Essential Set for North America
A cool trick I recently learned is to put a Screech Owl recording on your phone. If you play that a bit in a brushy area or in a place where you can't quite get your binoculars on a bird, it's likely that some birds will approach the sound of the little owl and you can get a closer look.
