Dawn chorus

A small Zoom F3 recorder and Clippy EM272 microphones were out during the night at a small creek (Hågaån). This is just some of the birds that passed by during the morning: grey wagtail, kingfisher, blackcap, wren, long-tailed tit, and hawfinch. 220506

Dawn chorus close to a small creek, Hågaån (May 6, 2022)

Early morning on a forest clear-cut nearby where I live. Tree pipit, wryneck, linnet, yellowhammer and others can be heard in the recording. 220508. Nåsten

Dawn chorus at a forest clearcut (May 8, 2022)

Färnebofjärdens National Park in the northern part of Uppland is a big wilderness area. In this recording I put the Zoom F3/Clippy microphone up over the night close to a beaver hut. Beavers can be heard when walking close by and when smacking their tails against the water. Surprisingly a family of otters came by in the morning. Otherwise you can hear ural owl, tawny owl, crane, redwing, songthrush, green sandpiper, common sandpiper etc in the recording. 220514. Färnebofjärdens NP

Dusk to dawn chorus in old-growth forest, Färnebofjärdens NP (May 14, 2022)

Although on the decline (?) there are still quite many Ural Owls breeding in Uppland. In the end of this recording you will hear when the male comes with food to the female and young. They are quite vocal in mid-May in the very early morning hours. This is a passive recording, I would not dare stand so close to Ural Owls otherwise. Really aggressive at their nests. During the night a Tawny Owl came too close and was chased off by the Urals. 220517

Dusk to dawn chorus with Ural Owls and Tawny Owls (May 17, 2022)

Morning recording from our garden surrounded by horse pastures and agricultural fields. Tree sparrow, blue tit, skylark, pheasant breed nearby. In the middle of the recording some unknown raptor passes by and all birds warn. 220521. Hågaby

Dawn chorus in my garden in Håga by (May 21, 2022)

Dusk to dawn chorus in my garden in Håga by (May 23, 2022)

From midnight to around 8 o'clock in the morning. A drop rig close to Hågaån, near Kvarnbo, Uppsala, Sweden. 220527

Dusk to dawn chorus along a small creek Hågaån (May 27, 2022)

Passive recording on a clearcut just west of Uppsala from 8PM June 5 to 6 AM June 6, 2022. The morning chorus dominated by blackcap and songthrush, in the background cuckoo and redbacked shrike. At dusk a pair of pygmy owls called.

Dusk to dawn chorus on a forest clearcut (June 6, 2022)

Night canoeing to listen for birds active during the night. Started 21:00 at Wiik Castle, SW Uppsala, and paddled west to Örsundsbro. Back at Wiik 01:00, June 15, 2022. A distance of 18 km. Birds in the order they appear in the recording: reed warbler, bittern, wood sandpiper, mute swan, cuckoo, spotted redshank, savi's warbler, sedge warbler, grasshopper warbler, marsh warbler, quail, common snipe, thrush nightingale, (beaver), savi's warbler, spotted crake, common gull, tawny owl.

Night canoeing in Lårstaviken

Left a drop rig at my favourite spot (Högbyhatt in Hågadalen-Nåstens NR just outside Uppsala during the night). The volume of bird calls are turned down this time of year. During the night a pygmy owl calls making robins and thrushes a bit uncomfortable. In the morning young willow warblers, nuthatches, long-tailed tits, garden warblers sing but not at all like a few months ago.

Early autumn in boreal forest

In the wolf forest close to Uppsala I placed a drop rig continuously recording for 48 hours and mixed it down to nine minutes. In the order they appear:
willow tit
crested tit
capercaillie, male flew past very close
pygmy owl
common scooter, two flocks migrating south
rain shower
WOLVES
pygmy owl
ural owl, female barking
jay
crested tit
raven landed close and walked around at the same time as WOLVES had a concert in the distance
crested tit
willow tit
Siggefora, Uppland. September 1 to 3, 2022.

Wolf forest from dusk to dawn

A drop rig placed in a typical coniferous forest in Sweden from the afternoon of 8 September to the morning of 9 September 2022. In the order they appear:
goldcrest
jay
nutcracker
robin
pygmy owl
blackbird
canada geese
Hågadalen-Nåsten nature reserve outside Uppsala.

From dusk to dawn in a small opening in coniferous forest

Put out my droprig close to Hågaån from 5PM to midnight on March 18, 2023. I had hoped for more action but a nice goodnight concert with calling blackbirds, a couple of mallards flew by as did geese migrating north, and the recording ends with the local beaver smashing its tail against the water.

Dusk to midnight Kvarnbo March 18

The setback in weather has made our bird feeding station come alive again. Lots of newly arrived chaffinches, wood pigeons and blackbirds together with the resident blue tit, great tit, nuthatch, greenfinch, tree sparrow, magpies etc. Trying out the new AudioTechnica BP4025 for the first time. Håga, Uppsala. March 26, 2023.

Weather setback at the bird feeder

A more than one hour long droprig recording (AudioTechnica BP4025 less than 10 m from the lekking ground). The first males arrived arround 5:00 AM but the real lek started when the sun rose (6:00 AM) when also the females arrived. Around 10 males and several females attended the lek this morning. Probably the peak of the mating season. Mistle thrushes can be heard singing in flight, several species of geese migrating north, redpolls, brambling and chaffinches migrated north. A very memorable night! Also with Ural Owl, Tengmalm's Owl and Pygmy Owl (not on the recording though). April 9, 2023.

Lekking Black Grouse

The cold morning of April 9, 2023, you can hear the ice making low-pitched noises against a background of Black Grouse lekking in the distance. Other prominent bird species in this recording are singing Mistle Thrush, Wood Pigeon, Common Crane, Treecreeper, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Chaffinch, Brambling, Siskin and Redpoll.

April dawn in boreal forest-mire complex

Dawn in the forest in mid-April means that thrushes dominate the soundscape. Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Redwings, Robins, Dunnocks are all prominent in this recording. Högbyhatt, Uppsala. April 20, 2023

Mixpre 3ii with spaced omnis (2x Clippy EM272) and center mic (AT BP 4025).

Thrush dawn

I spent the night in the forest to wake up with lekking Capercaillie. This is the fourth year in a row in late April. This year I was in luck since three hens visited the dominant male who displayed just in front of my mic. The ultra-sound part of their calls can be heard here. April 21, 2023.
AudioTechnica BP6025, Mixpre 3ii

Capercaillie lekking during the hen week

-3 degrees on April 29, 2023 so the dawn chorus was not that intensive. Beware of the pheasant cocks calling after a while! The hens can also be heard calling in between. Otherwise song thrushes start the morning to be folled by skylarks, tree sparrows, blue tits and more. Fox, badger and roe deer can also be heard.

Dawn chorus from the garden in Håga

Compared to 40 years ago when I started birdwatching, the bird fauna of Swedish cities has become more similar to that of England. This morning's droprig recording close to Hågaån, Uppsala is a point in case. Wrens, Blackbirds, Blackcaps and Robins are dominant and all of them are well into their second (third?) clutches now. Climate change allows these generalist species to thrive while many specialists fare worse. July 24, 2023.

Lewitt 440 Pure in ORTF + Mixpre 3 ii

The anglicisation of Swedish birds

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

Dawn chorus

Bo Söderström