Crakes, rails and crane

Little Crake

Corncrake

Quail

Water Rail

Capercaillie, Common Crane and Black Grouse

Common Crane and Barnacle Goose

Tämnaren is one of the biggest lakes in Uppland. This dawn I took the canoe to a sheltered bay at the southern end of Tämnaren. It is a wonderful place for birds inaccessible from land. My goal was to count the number of black terns in the colony. There were 60 birds which makes this colony one of the biggest in Sweden. Surprisingly I also found two little crakes, a rare bird in Sweden. Good numbers of young bearded reedlings as well.

Dawn at Sörsjön

From dusk to dawn with two pairs of cranes and one or two single male contenders. In this recording you will hear almost infrasound (80-200 Hz) growls and heavy panting as the males chase each other in the wetland and of course the trumpeting of cranes through the night. An amazing experience to be this close. Huddunge, Uppsala. April 9, 2024.

Mixpre 3ii + Lewitt 440 Pure in ortf

Cranes like you never heard them before!

At night during the month of April rails are migrating north. Their calls may sometime be tricky to tell apart. Here you have different calls of water rails (black scooter and toads in the background) and the recording ends with a migrating coot and a moorhen.
Huddunge, Uppland. April 9, 2024.

Rails in the night

Not sure if this has ever been recorded before but during the fights between two male cranes I heard them panting and utter almost infrasound growls (80 to 200 Hz). These calls were not made by the wings. Has anyone heard these before?
Huddunge, Uppland. April 9, 2024

AudioTechnica BP4025 + Zoom F3

Near infrasound in Cranes fighting

Three out of four years when monitoring Black Terns in Sörsjön, Tämnaren I have had Little Crakes calling. Nothing last year but in 2022 I had two Little Crakes with the so called female call, in 2021 one with the female call, and this year one with the male call. This species is just barely seen every year in Sweden so Sörsjön is probably the best place in Sweden to hear this rare bird.
Sörsjön, Tämnaren. May 25, 2024.

Zoom F3 + Clippy EM272 x 2

Little Crake - the so called male call

SIx water rails close by with their piglet squealing calls among other wonderful sounds :)
Sörsjön, Tämnaren. May 25, 2024.

Zoom F3 + Clippy EM272

A water rail "piglet squealing"

A mono recording with Wildtronics parabolic dish of a closeup corncrake. What surprised me the most was the wheezing call (1000-2200 Hz) in between the "crex-crex". Most often this call was heard just prior to the song. Not sure if the male prepared itself for the energetic calls. Does anyone know?

Håga, Uppsala. June 16, 2024. 

Wildtronics Parabolic dish + Mixpre 3ii

Wheezing calls of a Corncrake!

Not much else to listen to or record this time of year when all birds are busy raising young, but the Quails are still going strong. This mono recording is from midnight today.

Sundbromark, Uppsala. June 17, 2024.
Wildtronics Parabolic dish + Mixpre 3ii

The Quail song

Watch out for the fanfare later in the recording. It seems as the Crane must build up pressure within its body to be able to produce the calls that travels for kilometers.

Huddunge, Uppland. April 2, 2025.
Zoom F3 + Clippy EM272 as tree ears

A Crane fanfare

Early morning and a Common Crane is slowly walking in a wet mire, almost talking to itself.

Huddunge, Uppland. April 2, 2025.
Zoom F3 + Clippy EM272

Crane chatting

Field sound recordist and archivist of vanishing sounds in natural Iandscapes. Highly commended in the Sound of the Year Awards 2024 - Best Natural Sound.

Crakes, rails and crane

Bo Söderström