Recording 4257.	Blyth’s Reed Warbler (3).	15th May ’24 – 4.45am.	Edge Pilla’s garden.  
Duration =12m20.		Rated 9.		Warm Audio 84's & a Tascam X8 recorder.
The Warbler includes a lot of mimicry in his song.  After about ten minutes a Thrush Nightingale begins to sing nearby.  This is a fantastic quality recording.Wednesday the 15th of May 2024.  Out early and set up the 440s with the MixPre at the edge of the village with the mics pointing towards the sauna house in the distance, the idea was to get some of the wetland sounds with the distant songbirds around the sauna house, for some reason there is a great density of birds there.  I felt the birdsong chorus was not as strong as two ? mornings before, maybe the higher temperatures make the birds more laid back, as the best choruses I have ever heard were on really cold mornings.  Nearby I set up the X8 with the Warm Audio 84’s pointing towards what might have been a Blyth's reed warbler, he allowed a close approach to set up the mics.  I love the sound these mics give, they go a bit wonky after about thirty or forty minutes, however it is worth putting them in place, the results are like a very polished analogue.                           Later the two automated lawn mowers arrived.  I wondered was that the end of the peace and quiet in the area ?  What time would these be programmed to start and finish at ?  Later after the guy installing them, (one for the Nature school and one for a neighbour) went off.   I then got the gear out, the Promo microphones and the MixPre and began to record the Starlings at the nest as I noticed a hole in the right hand side of the nest box, so using a long piece of wood and two short extension leads, I got the two mics up there and found the gain of only 34db was enough to recorded the young, after leaving it for a few visits of the adults to the young,  I went out and took in the card, loaded it in Acoustica, the levels were perfect, so I put the card back in and let it run for another half an hour or so.  I like recording birds at the nest.  In the evening I went down to where I heard what might have been young Owls and put the 440’s with the X8 in place with a smoke coil and then went down to the silver birch woods to record the evening chorus with the 8020’s and the MixPre.  Came out of there early, back to the house, left in the gear then walked down to collect the first rig, a forty minute round trip walk.  The Owls ? were in a different place than earlier. Got to bed late again, exhausted tired.
Image by Aidan Semmens from Pixabay.

Blyth's Reed Warbler (3) 15th May 2024 at 4.45am - Palupohja

4270.	Dawn Chorus (3).	16th May ’24 – 4.07am.	Edge village by boats.	26m20.  	Rated 9.  440’s & X8.  At the edge of the village by the boats (this place is also near the edge of Pilla’s garden).  A fantastic chorus with a lot of birds in song, perhaps not quite as dense as the first sample (4268). In the distance there is so much going on it is hard to tell what species are singing.  Wonderful solid activity from beginning to end.  At around 14m17 a Common Sandpiper comes close. Around 14m50 distant Common Cranes call, then a nearer pair call too, after this a nearby Whitethroat sings.  The frogs can be heard more clearly than in 4268.  Sometimes a distant Raven can be heard.  At around 25m12 a mosquito to edit out.
Thursday the 16th of May 24.   At about 3.30am I was setting up the 440’s and the X8 at the riverbank by the boats at the edge of the village and pointing over to the sauna house as before.  Left it there and went down to the sauna house area and set up the 8020’s with the MixPre and set it to record, I then went back to the house and made breakfast.  After porridge I went out and checked the gear.  Finished breakfast and went out to bring in the gear.  Later Robert ended up getting the petrol mover out.  Went for a good long walk during the day.  In the evening I went down to the jetty and recorded the early night sounds.  The birds were closer to the mics there than near the nature school garden, also there was a Savi’s warbler in song.  The first minutes were somewhat spoiled with what was probably a distant boat, but about the time the Savi’s warbler began to sing the noise stopped and I got a nice long recording of the atmosphere.  Happy with what was recorded.

Dawn Chorus (3) 16th May 2024 at 4.07am - Palupohja

Recording 4271.	Dawn Chorus (4).	16th May ’24 – 4.22am.		Sauna House.		20m55.	Rated 9.	8020’s & MixPre3.
A fantastic chorus with a lot of birds in song.  In the background a River Warbler sings.  There is a hint of what may be mosquitoes.  At around 1m56 a Raven goes by in the distance, they hang around for awhile, by 5m18 one Raven has come somewhat closer, before going further away.  At around ten minutes there is a low level swish sound for some seconds, this may only be some birds flying over.  Around about 17m00 sounds especially good for some reason, it seems more intense somehow, and comes across like that to the end of the recording.  A distant Cuckoo sings for the whole recording.
Thursday the 16th of May 24.   At about 3.30am I was setting up the 440’s and the X8 at the riverbank by the boats at the edge of the village and pointing over to the sauna house as before.  Left it there and went down to the sauna house area and set up the 8020’s with the MixPre and set it to record, I then went back to the house and made breakfast.  After porridge I went out and checked the gear.  Finished breakfast and went out to bring in the gear.  Later Robert ended up getting the petrol mover out.  Went for a good long walk during the day.  In the evening I went down to the jetty and recorded the early night sounds.  The birds were closer to the mics there than near the nature school garden, also there was a Savi’s warbler in song.  The first minutes were somewhat spoiled with what was probably a distant boat, but about the time the Savi’s warbler began to sing the noise stopped and I got a nice long recording of the atmosphere.  Happy with what was recorded.

Dawn Chorus (4) 16th May 2024 at 4.22am - Palupohja

Recording 4274.	Wetland night.	16th May ’24 – 11.09pm.		By the Jetty.  	21m20.	Rated 9.  440’s & MixPre3.	A distant Water Rail calls, also Savi’s Warbler is closer than in any other of the recordings.  Other species are Corncrake and Spotted Crake, these are almost loud, further away are Common Snipe and Bittern.  Sometimes the Savi’s Warbler can increase in volume a lot, presumably when he turns his head towards the mics.  At around 11m20 the frogs are strong.   A star recording.
Thursday the 16th of May 24.   At about 3.30am I was setting up the 440’s and the X8 at the riverbank by the boats at the edge of the village and pointing over to the sauna house as before.  Left it there and went down to the sauna house area and set up the 8020’s with the MixPre and set it to record, I then went back to the house and made breakfast.  After porridge I went out and checked the gear.  Finished breakfast and went out to bring in the gear.  Later Robert ended up getting the petrol mover out.  Went for a good long walk during the day.  In the evening I went down to the jetty and recorded the early night sounds.  The birds were closer to the mics there than near the nature school garden, also there was a Savi’s warbler in song.  The first minutes were somewhat spoiled with what was probably a distant boat, but about the time the Savi’s warbler began to sing the noise stopped and I got a nice long recording of the atmosphere.  Happy with what was recorded.

Wetland Night - 16th May 2024 at 11.09pm - Palupohja

Recording 4275.	Thrush Nightingale at night.  17th May ’24 – 11.46pm.	Trees behind sauna house.  10m35.	Rated 8.			440’s & MixPre3.  There is a slight hint of breeze? Or mosquitoes ? Later in the recording the ‘breeze’ increases a little.
Friday the 17th of May.  Up early, went outside but found that it was not calm, indeed it was almost breezy, went back out sometime later to check the weather, it hadn’t settled so I went back to bed.  At least I got nearly a full nights sleep.  Later I noticed that the dandelions were in flower again even though Robert had mowed the whole lawn with the ride on mower only the day before.  Went for a slightly longer walk after lunch.  After 4pm I went out to the new road to record the daytime chorus, it was more an interesting thing to do than getting really great material.  Near darkness I went down to a Pilla’s large garden to record the sound of the Crakes, their mower seemed to be stuck so it was quiet and also a closer spot for me to record than walking to a further patch of forest, I had just set up when the owners arrived (I assume it was the owners)  they probably saw me leave in the darkness.  I ended up recording a Thrush Nightingale from a distance from the other house, I wanted the wonderful natural reverbrance along with its song.

Thrush Nightingale - 17th May 2024 at 11.46pm - Palupohja

Recording 4281.	Dawn Chorus (6).	18th May ’24 – 4.05am.		Near the sauna house.  15m15.	Rated 9.	440’s & MixPre3.
Not a very dense chorus, but a good mix of species all the same, very even-all-over too.  This is probably the best recording of the chorus recorded that morning.
Saturday the 18th of May 2024.  Got a lot of recording done in the morning, got three rigs out, first of all the Primos on the wall of the old abandoned house, the wall to act as a boundary, the ideal would be to have them pointing perfectly outwards, but all I could do was to fix them onto a rusty nail, these were connected to the DR-100.  Next the Warm audio 84’s going into the X8, at the edge of a piece of forest, put a smoke coil near the mics.  Then the 440’s going into the MixPre, the gain set at 69db, quite high but then the mics were a small distance from the trees, I wanted to get a more general sound of the chorus, rather than be in among the trees, good to try both.  This rig I put a net over, suspended over four sticks and inside another smoke coil.  I went off and had breakfast, coming out half way through to check everything was okay.  Someone arrived near to the end of the recording and parked their jeep, I was surprised to see people out so very early, but then it was the weekend.  Later after lunch I went out for a good long walk.  Walked down to the Silver Birch wood but got chased out of there by the mosquitoes.              In the afternoon I noticed a woman take the ride-on mower out of the barn and drive it down the road to do her lawn, was this the same people who bought the other auto mower ?  If so then they might put away the auto mower for a few days, this would give me a chance to record the Blyths Reed Warbler that sings in low scrubby bushes at the edge of their property, I found out that this seemed to be the case.   In the evening I was going to record the chorus in a small meadow in-between pine trees on one side and broad leaved trees on the other.  I don’t know how the meadow stays free from being taken over by scrub, but it was as grassy as it was a few years before.  It was the weekend so some people had arrived to their summer houses, someone had loud music playing, it would go off for awhile only to come on again, so it was likely that even if I had gone out and set up the equipment, Murphy’s law and all that, as soon as I would press record the music would begin at that second, it has happened so often over the years, so I went to bed, get a good rest for the mornings recording.

Dawn Chorus (6) - 18 May 2024 at 4.05am - Palupohja

Recording 4283.	Dawn Chorus (8).	18th May ’24 – 4.23am.		Near the sauna house.   22m55.	Rated 9.  Warm Audio 84’s & Tascam X8 recorder.	This is more laid-back than other recordings from that morning and perhaps should be called ‘morning chorus.’  The Icterine Warbler is nearby,
less close than in 4282.  At about 12m17 a Wood Pigeon begins to coo.  This is a fantastic star recording, lots of species.  At around 19m00 a hawk ? makes a few calls.  At 19m33 a Wood Pigeon flies by.  Soon the Pigeon coos again, but sounds a bit closer than before.
Saturday the 18th of May 2024.  Got a lot of recording done in the morning, got three rigs out, first of all the Primos on the wall of the old abandoned house, the wall to act as a boundary, the ideal would be to have them pointing perfectly outwards, but all I could do was to fix them onto a rusty nail, these were connected to the DR-100.  Next the Warm audio 84’s going into the X8, at the edge of a piece of forest, put a smoke coil near the mics.  Then the 440’s going into the MixPre, the gain set at 69db, quite high but then the mics were a small distance from the trees, I wanted to get a more general sound of the chorus, rather than be in among the trees, good to try both.  This rig I put a net over, suspended over four sticks and inside another smoke coil.  I went off and had breakfast, coming out half way through to check everything was okay.  Someone arrived near to the end of the recording and parked their jeep, I was surprised to see people out so very early, but then it was the weekend.  Later after lunch I went out for a good long walk.  Walked down to the Silver Birch wood but got chased out of there by the mosquitoes.              In the afternoon I noticed a woman take the ride-on mower out of the barn and drive it down the road to do her lawn, was this the same people who bought the other auto mower ?  If so then they might put away the auto mower for a few days, this would give me a chance to record the Blyths Reed Warbler that sings in low scrubby bushes at the edge of their property, I found out that this seemed to be the case.   In the evening I was going to record the chorus in a small meadow in-between pine trees on one side and broad leaved trees on the other.  I don’t know how the meadow stays free from being taken over by scrub, but it was as grassy as it was a few years before.  It was the weekend so some people had arrived to their summer houses, someone had loud music playing, it would go off for awhile only to come on again, so it was likely that even if I had gone out and set up the equipment, Murphy’s law and all that, as soon as I would press record the music would begin at that second, it has happened so often over the years, so I went to bed, get a good rest for the mornings recording.

Dawn Chorus (8) - 18 May 2024 at 4.23am - Palupohja

Recording 4284.	Dawn Chorus (9).	18th May ’24 – 4.24am.		Near sauna house.		21m35.	Rated 9.  440’s & MixPre3.	
A great chorus with a lot of activity.  By 9m50 a Whitethroat sings close to the mics for a few moments.  At 19m28 a bang to edit out.  Around 20m20 a swish noise, don’t know what caused it.   The second half or so of this recording is best.  A star recording.
Saturday the 18th of May 2024.  Got a lot of recording done in the morning, got three rigs out, first of all the Primos on the wall of the old abandoned house, the wall to act as a boundary, the ideal would be to have them pointing perfectly outwards, but all I could do was to fix them onto a rusty nail, these were connected to the DR-100.  Next the Warm audio 84’s across the gravel road from the house with the Primos going into the X8, at the edge of a piece of forest, put a smoke coil near the mics.  Then the 440’s going into the MixPre, the gain set at 69db, quite high but then the mics were a small distance from the trees, I wanted to get a more general sound of the chorus, rather than be in among the trees, good to try both.  This rig I put a net over, suspended over four sticks and inside another smoke coil.  I went off and had breakfast, coming out half way through to check everything was okay.  Someone arrived near to the end of the recording and parked their jeep, I was surprised to see people out so very early, but then it was the weekend.  Later after lunch I went out for a good long walk.  Walked down to the Silver Birch wood but got chased out of there by the mosquitoes.              In the afternoon I noticed a woman take the ride-on mower out of the barn and drive it down the road to do her lawn, was this the same people who bought the other auto mower ?  If so then they might put away the auto mower for a few days, this would give me a chance to record the Blyths Reed Warbler that sings in low scrubby bushes at the edge of their property, I found out that this seemed to be the case.   In the evening I was going to record the chorus in a small meadow in-between pine trees on one side and broad leaved trees on the other.  I don’t know how the meadow stays free from being taken over by scrub, but it was as grassy as it was a few years before.  It was the weekend so some people had arrived to their summer houses, someone had loud music playing, it would go off for awhile only to come on again, so it was likely that even if I had gone out and set up the equipment, Murphy’s law and all that, as soon as I would press record the music would begin at that second, it has happened so often over the years, so I went to bed, get a good rest for the mornings recording.

Dawn Chorus (9) - 18 May 2024 at 4.24am - Palupohja

Recording 4288.	Dawn Chorus (1).	19th May ’24 – 3.32am.		Edge village near boats. 	17m35.	Rated 9. 	WA84’s & X8.
The main singers are a nearby Blyth’s Reed Warbler and further away a Thrush Nightingale.  The background sounds busy, yet I don’t hear really much going on, strange.  After about half way in the Thrush Nightingale stops singing.  Generally sounds fantastic.
Sunday the 19th of May 2024.  I was now 41 years recording birds.  I wanted to record the Blyths Reed Warbler again but this time with the mics about three meters less close than last time, that property is called Pille’s place.  Set up the Warm Audio 84’s with the X8, put a smoke coil on it, they seem to be effective in keeping the clouds of mosquitoes off the mics.  I hadn’t expected it to be so calm, as it was not forecast to be calm, but gladly a thick mist hung over the fields on places.  The smoke would hang around the mics better.  Left the rig there and went back to the house and set up the 8020’s and the MixPre and placed it on the wood above the well, a fantastic chorus, that seemed to be beginning earlier than a week or so before.  Even after ending the recording the chorus was still very good, even an hour later it would have been worth recording.  Processed the recordings and went to bed.  Robert arrived before lunch and got a pot of soup ready for a group coming that afternoon.  I done some various jobs too and at around 2pm went out for a walk.

Dawn Chorus (1) - 19th May 2024 at 3.32am - Palupohja

Recording 4289.  Dawn Chorus (2).  19th May ’24 – 3.42am.		School garden.  15m20.	  Rated 9.  8020’s & MixPre3.  A nearby Blackbird sings while further away Spotted Crake calls.  Gradually a Thrush Nightingale and Redwing become more dominant.  After about ten minutes there is a non descript and very low level distant sound like a light breeze in the tree tops, this goes away.  Other than that there is nothing but birds to be heard, a star recording.
Sunday the 19th of May 2024.  I was now 41 years recording birds.  I wanted to record the Blyths Reed Warbler again but this time with the mics about three meters less close than last time, that property is called Pille’s place.  Set up the Warm Audio 84’s with the X8, put a smoke coil on it, they seem to be effective in keeping the clouds of mosquitoes off the mics.  I hadn’t expected it to be so calm, as it was not forecast to be calm, but gladly a thick mist hung over the fields on places.  The smoke would hang around the mics better.  Left the rig there and went back to the house and set up the 8020’s and the MixPre and placed it on the wood above the well, a fantastic chorus, that seemed to be beginning earlier than a week or so before.  Even after ending the recording the chorus was still very good, even an hour later it would have been worth recording.  Processed the recordings and went to bed.  Robert arrived before lunch and got a pot of soup ready for a group coming that afternoon.  I done some various jobs too and at around 2pm went out for a walk.

Dawn Chorus (2) - 19th May 2024 at 3.42am - Palupohja

Recording 4291.	Dawn Chorus (4).	19th May ’24 – 3.57am.		School garden.	14m20.	Rated 9. 	8020’s & MixPre3.  In the distance a Cuckoo sings and sometimes a Bittern calls, while nearer, in the garden a lot of species can be heard.  At 12m32 some Geese can be heard for a few moments.  A fantastic chorus, there is nothing but birds to be heard, a star recording.
Sunday the 19th of May 2024.  I was now 41 years recording birds.  I wanted to record the Blyths Reed Warbler again but this time with the mics about three meters less close than last time, that property is called Pille’s place.  Set up the Warm Audio 84’s with the X8, put a smoke coil on it, they seem to be effective in keeping the clouds of mosquitoes off the mics.  I hadn’t expected it to be so calm, as it was not forecast to be calm, but gladly a thick mist hung over the fields on places.  The smoke would hang around the mics better.  Left the rig there and went back to the house and set up the 8020’s and the MixPre and placed it on the wood above the well, a fantastic chorus, that seemed to be beginning earlier than a week or so before.  Even after ending the recording the chorus was still very good, even an hour later it would have been worth recording.  Processed the recordings and went to bed.  Robert arrived before lunch and got a pot of soup ready for a group coming that afternoon.  I done some various jobs too and at around 2pm went out for a walk.

Dawn Chorus (4) 19th May 2024 at 3.57am - School Garden

Recording 4297.	Dawn Chorus (1).	20th May ‘24 – 3.05am.		Middle of Pilla’s garden.  22m40.	Rated 9.	8020’s & MixPre3.  
A fantastic chorus with lots of species, no one species is close.  
A star recording.
Monday the 20th of May 2024.   Got up very early and went straight out to Pilla’s garden to record the dawn chorus extra early.  I got the idea that her garden is like at theatre, a huge lawn surrounded by trees, that Blyths Reed Warbler sings under one of those trees.  I put two smoke rings under the 8020’s and plugged them into the MixPre.  I was almost too early, but it was great to be there.  The plan was to set the X8 with the Warm Audio 84’s in the garden but only when the chorus got really going.  After awhile I done that, then continued recording with the 8020’s till about forty minutes had elapsed (It might have been more than this), this is because for some reason the WA84’s go a bit wonky where one channel goes noisy, don’t know what causes it but it puts a limit on how long I should record with them.  So when the 40 minutes had gone by, I finished in Pilla’s garden as the chorus was dying down a little bit so I replaced the WA84’s with the 8020’s.  I put them on top of the well and continued recording.   After I finished recording with the 8020’s I set up the NT4 and the DR-100 and put it in the old house to record the morning chorus from inside, I had the gain up full and thought the levels were too low but it turned out that at about half way through the recording the Swallows came in, then the levels went up to near zero.  Went back to bed.  Later when I was outside I saw that the wind was still very slack and the birds were still twittering strongly, nearly as good as early in the morning.  So I got the recorder and 8020’s and began recording.  In the afternoon I went for my usual walk (Towards the main road).  Later I didn’t go recording as it wasn’t calm enough also I didn’t feel up to it.

Dawn Chorus (1) 20th May 2024 at 3.05am - Pilla's Garden

Recording 4298.	Dawn Chorus (2).	20th May ’24 – 3.29am.		Middle of Pilla’s garden. 	11m40.	Rated 9.  	8020’s & MixPre3.  A fantastic chorus with lots of species, no one species is close.  There seems to be the slight beginnings of mosquitoes by the end.  A star recording.
Monday the 20th of May 2024.   Got up very early and went straight out to Pilla’s garden to record the dawn chorus extra early.  I got the idea that her garden is like at theatre, a huge lawn surrounded by trees, that Blyths Reed Warbler sings under one of those trees.  I put two smoke rings under the 8020’s and plugged them into the MixPre.  I was almost too early, but it was great to be there.  The plan was to set the X8 with the Warm Audio 84’s in the garden but only when the chorus got really going.  After awhile I done that, then continued recording with the 8020’s till about forty minutes had elapsed (It might have been more than this), this is because for some reason the WA84’s go a bit wonky where one channel goes noisy, don’t know what causes it but it puts a limit on how long I should record with them.  So when the 40 minutes had gone by, I finished in Pilla’s garden as the chorus was dying down a little bit so I replaced the WA84’s with the 8020’s.  I put them on top of the well and continued recording.   After I finished recording with the 8020’s I set up the NT4 and the DR-100 and put it in the old house to record the morning chorus from inside, I had the gain up full and thought the levels were too low but it turned out that at about half way through the recording the Swallows came in, then the levels went up to near zero.  Went back to bed.  Later when I was outside I saw that the wind was still very slack and the birds were still twittering strongly, nearly as good as early in the morning.  So I got the recorder and 8020’s and began recording.  In the afternoon I went for my usual walk (Towards the main road).  Later I didn’t go recording as it wasn’t calm enough also I didn’t feel up to it.

Dawn Chorus (2) 20th May 2024 at 3.29am - Palupohja

Recording 4298.	Dawn Chorus (2).	20th May ’24 – 3.29am.		Middle of Pilla’s garden. 	11m40.	Rated 9.  8020’s & MixPre3.  A fantastic chorus with lots of species, no one species is close.  There seems to be the slight beginnings of mosquitoes by the end.  A star recording.
Monday the 20th of May 2024.   Got up very early and went straight out to Pilla’s garden to record the dawn chorus extra early.  I got the idea that her garden is like at theatre, a huge lawn surrounded by trees, that Blyths Reed Warbler sings under one of those trees.  I put two smoke rings under the 8020’s and plugged them into the MixPre.  I was almost too early, but it was great to be there.  The plan was to set the X8 with the Warm Audio 84’s in the garden but only when the chorus got really going.  After awhile I done that, then continued recording with the 8020’s till about forty minutes had elapsed (It might have been more than this), this is because for some reason the WA84’s go a bit wonky where one channel goes noisy, don’t know what causes it but it puts a limit on how long I should record with them.  So when the 40 minutes had gone by, I finished in Pilla’s garden as the chorus was dying down a little bit so I replaced the WA84’s with the 8020’s.  I put them on top of the well and continued recording.   After I finished recording with the 8020’s I set up the NT4 and the DR-100 and put it in the old house to record the morning chorus from inside, I had the gain up full and thought the levels were too low but it turned out that at about half way through the recording the Swallows came in, then the levels went up to near zero.  Went back to bed.  Later when I was outside I saw that the wind was still very slack and the birds were still twittering strongly, nearly as good as early in the morning.  So I got the recorder and 8020’s and began recording.  In the afternoon I went for my usual walk (Towards the main road).  Later I didn’t go recording as it wasn’t calm enough also I didn’t feel up to it.

Dawn Chorus (3) 20th May 2024 at 3.43am - Palupohja

Recording 4300.	Dawn Chorus (4).  	20th May ’24 – 3.53am.  		School garden.	18m50.	Rated 9. 	Warm Audio 84’s & a Tascam X8 recorder.	Lots of species in song.  There is a good foundation of frogs and Spotted Crake. There is a hint of mosquitoes, otherwise a fantastic chorus, no species is dominant.
Monday the 20th of May 2024.   Got up very early and went straight out to Pilla’s garden to record the dawn chorus extra early.  I got the idea that her garden is like at theatre, a huge lawn surrounded by trees, that Blyths Reed Warbler sings under one of those trees.  I put two smoke rings under the 8020’s and plugged them into the MixPre.  I was almost too early, but it was great to be there.  The plan was to set the X8 with the Warm Audio 84’s in the garden but only when the chorus got really going.  After awhile I done that, then continued recording with the 8020’s till about forty minutes had elapsed (It might have been more than this), this is because for some reason the WA84’s go a bit wonky where one channel goes noisy, don’t know what causes it but it puts a limit on how long I should record with them.  So when the 40 minutes had gone by, I finished in Pilla’s garden as the chorus was dying down a little bit so I replaced the WA84’s with the 8020’s.  I put them on top of the well and continued recording.   After I finished recording with the 8020’s I set up the NT4 and the DR-100 and put it in the old house to record the morning chorus from inside, I had the gain up full and thought the levels were too low but it turned out that at about half way through the recording the Swallows came in, then the levels went up to near zero.  Went back to bed.  Later when I was outside I saw that the wind was still very slack and the birds were still twittering strongly, nearly as good as early in the morning.  So I got the recorder and 8020’s and began recording.  In the afternoon I went for my usual walk (Towards the main road).  Later I didn’t go recording as it wasn’t calm enough also I didn’t feel up to it.

Dawn Chorus (4) 20th May 2024 at 3.53am - School Garden

Recording 4301.	Dawn Chorus (5).	20th May ’24 – 4.03am.		Pilla’s garden.	 21m10.	Rated 8. 	8020’s & MixPre3.  There is a definite sound from mosquitoes, still though it is a fantastic chorus with lots of species, no one species is close/dominant.   
At around 12m20 a mosquito flies around for a few seconds.  Monday the 20th of May 2024.   Got up very early and went straight out to Pilla’s garden to record the dawn chorus extra early.  I got the idea that her garden is like at theatre, a huge lawn surrounded by trees, that Blyths Reed Warbler sings under one of those trees.  I put two smoke rings under the 8020’s and plugged them into the MixPre.  I was almost too early, but it was great to be there.  The plan was to set the X8 with the Warm Audio 84’s in the garden but only when the chorus got really going.  After awhile I done that, then continued recording with the 8020’s till about forty minutes had elapsed (It might have been more than this), this is because for some reason the WA84’s go a bit wonky where one channel goes noisy, don’t know what causes it but it puts a limit on how long I should record with them.  So when the 40 minutes had gone by, I finished in Pilla’s garden as the chorus was dying down a little bit so I replaced the WA84’s with the 8020’s.  I put them on top of the well and continued recording.   After I finished recording with the 8020’s I set up the NT4 and the DR-100 and put it in the old house to record the morning chorus from inside, I had the gain up full and thought the levels were too low but it turned out that at about half way through the recording the Swallows came in, then the levels went up to near zero.  Went back to bed.  Later when I was outside I saw that the wind was still very slack and the birds were still twittering strongly, nearly as good as early in the morning.  So I got the recorder and 8020’s and began recording.  In the afternoon I went for my usual walk (Towards the main road).  Later I didn’t go recording as it wasn’t calm enough also I didn’t feel up to it.

Dawn Chorus (5) 20th May 2024 at 4.03am - Pilla's Garden

Recording 4302.	Dawn Chorus (6).	20th May ’24 – 4.11am.		School garden.	18m40.	Rated 9.	WA84’s & X8.	There is a hint of a hush sound in the background, most likely caused by mosquitoes.  A fantastic chorus with many species.  No one species is dominant.

Dawn Chorus (6) 20 May 2024 at 4.11am - School Garden

Recording 4303.	Dawn Chorus (7).	20th May ’24 – 4.41am.		School garden.  16m40.  Rated 9.  8020’s & MixPre3.  Around 7m45 distant Common Crane calls.   A fantastic chorus with many species.  No one species is dominant.
Monday the 20th of May 2024.   Got up very early and went straight out to Pilla’s garden to record the dawn chorus extra early.  I got the idea that her garden is like at theatre, a huge lawn surrounded by trees, that Blyths Reed Warbler sings under one of those trees.  I put two smoke rings under the 8020’s and plugged them into the MixPre.  I was almost too early, but it was great to be there.  The plan was to set the X8 with the Warm Audio 84’s in the garden but only when the chorus got really going.  After awhile I done that, then continued recording with the 8020’s till about forty minutes had elapsed (It might have been more than this), this is because for some reason the WA84’s go a bit wonky where one channel goes noisy, don’t know what causes it but it puts a limit on how long I should record with them.  So when the 40 minutes had gone by, I finished in Pilla’s garden as the chorus was dying down a little bit so I replaced the WA84’s with the 8020’s.  I put them on top of the well and continued recording.   After I finished recording with the 8020’s I set up the NT4 and the DR-100 and put it in the old house to record the morning chorus from inside, I had the gain up full and thought the levels were too low but it turned out that at about half way through the recording the Swallows came in, then the levels went up to near zero.  Went back to bed.  Later when I was outside I saw that the wind was still very slack and the birds were still twittering strongly, nearly as good as early in the morning.  So I got the recorder and 8020’s and began recording.  In the afternoon I went for my usual walk (Towards the main road).  Later I didn’t go recording as it wasn’t calm enough also I didn’t feel up to it.

Dawn Chorus (7) 20th May 2024 at 4.41am - School Garden

Recording 4307.	Morning chorus (2).  20th May ’24 – 5.46am.		School garden.  13m35.  Rated 9.  8020’s & MixPre3.  Some of those odd sounds (As in 4306) in the opening minute or so.  At 9m08 a Lesser Whitethroat sings one song nearby.  At 11m44 a few loud close perspective calls from a bird.  Overall very good.
Monday the 20th of May 2024.   Got up very early and went straight out to Pilla’s garden to record the dawn chorus extra early.  I got the idea that her garden is like at theatre, a huge lawn surrounded by trees, that Blyths Reed Warbler sings under one of those trees.  I put two smoke rings under the 8020’s and plugged them into the MixPre.  I was almost too early, but it was great to be there.  The plan was to set the X8 with the Warm Audio 84’s in the garden but only when the chorus got really going.  After awhile I done that, then continued recording with the 8020’s till about forty minutes had elapsed (It might have been more than this), this is because for some reason the WA84’s go a bit wonky where one channel goes noisy, don’t know what causes it but it puts a limit on how long I should record with them.  So when the 40 minutes had gone by, I finished in Pilla’s garden as the chorus was dying down a little bit so I replaced the WA84’s with the 8020’s.  I put them on top of the well and continued recording.   After I finished recording with the 8020’s I set up the NT4 and the DR-100 and put it in the old house to record the morning chorus from inside, I had the gain up full and thought the levels were too low but it turned out that at about half way through the recording the Swallows came in, then the levels went up to near zero.  Went back to bed.  Later when I was outside I saw that the wind was still very slack and the birds were still twittering strongly, nearly as good as early in the morning.  So I got the recorder and 8020’s and began recording.  In the afternoon I went for my usual walk (Towards the main road).  Later I didn’t go recording as it wasn’t calm enough also I didn’t feel up to it.

Morning Chorus (2) 20th May 2024 at 5.46am - School Garden

Recording 4309.	Morning chorus (3).	20th May ’24 – 6.36am.		School garden.	14m35.	Rated 9.	8020’s & MixPre3.
At around six minutes there is some of that odd noise as if a bird is moving about inside a nest box.  A fantastic chorus, lots of species, a Lesser Whitethroat is strong for awhile.  A Dunnock sings nearby sometimes.  Around 14m10 a Rook comes in nearer to the garden.  In the closing seconds two distant Cuckoo call.
Monday the 20th of May 2024.   Got up very early and went straight out to Pilla’s garden to record the dawn chorus extra early.  I got the idea that her garden is like at theatre, a huge lawn surrounded by trees, that Blyths Reed Warbler sings under one of those trees.  I put two smoke rings under the 8020’s and plugged them into the MixPre.  I was almost too early, but it was great to be there.  The plan was to set the X8 with the Warm Audio 84’s in the garden but only when the chorus got really going.  After awhile I done that, then continued recording with the 8020’s till about forty minutes had elapsed (It might have been more than this), this is because for some reason the WA84’s go a bit wonky where one channel goes noisy, don’t know what causes it but it puts a limit on how long I should record with them.  So when the 40 minutes had gone by, I finished in Pilla’s garden as the chorus was dying down a little bit so I replaced the WA84’s with the 8020’s.  I put them on top of the well and continued recording.   After I finished recording with the 8020’s I set up the NT4 and the DR-100 and put it in the old house to record the morning chorus from inside, I had the gain up full and thought the levels were too low but it turned out that at about half way through the recording the Swallows came in, then the levels went up to near zero.  Went back to bed.  Later when I was outside I saw that the wind was still very slack and the birds were still twittering strongly, nearly as good as early in the morning.  So I got the recorder and 8020’s and began recording.  In the afternoon I went for my usual walk (Towards the main road).  Later I didn’t go recording as it wasn’t calm enough also I didn’t feel up to it.

Morning Chorus (3) 20th May 2024 at 6.36am - School Garden

Recording 4310.	Day chorus.	20th May ’24 – 10.49am.		School garden.	17m25.	Rated 9.  8020’s & MixPre3.
Though it is later in the morning the birds are singing strongly.  At the beginning a Lesser Whitethroat sings nearby.  A great range of species to be heard.  There is a fairly strong atmosphere of bees flies and mosquitoes, it sounds good in this case. Monday the 20th of May 2024.   Got up very early and went straight out to Pilla’s garden to record the dawn chorus extra early.  I got the idea that her garden is like at theatre, a huge lawn surrounded by trees, that Blyths Reed Warbler sings under one of those trees.  I put two smoke rings under the 8020’s and plugged them into the MixPre.  I was almost too early, but it was great to be there.  The plan was to set the X8 with the Warm Audio 84’s in the garden but only when the chorus got really going.  After awhile I done that, then continued recording with the 8020’s till about forty minutes had elapsed (It might have been more than this), this is because for some reason the WA84’s go a bit wonky where one channel goes noisy, don’t know what causes it but it puts a limit on how long I should record with them.  So when the 40 minutes had gone by, I finished in Pilla’s garden as the chorus was dying down a little bit so I replaced the WA84’s with the 8020’s.  I put them on top of the well and continued recording.   After I finished recording with the 8020’s I set up the NT4 and the DR-100 and put it in the old house to record the morning chorus from inside, I had the gain up full and thought the levels were too low but it turned out that at about half way through the recording the Swallows came in, then the levels went up to near zero.  Went back to bed.  Later when I was outside I saw that the wind was still very slack and the birds were still twittering strongly, nearly as good as early in the morning.  So I got the recorder and 8020’s and began recording.  In the afternoon I went for my usual walk (Towards the main road).  Later I didn’t go recording as it wasn’t calm enough also I didn’t feel up to it.

Day Chorus - 20th May 2024 at 10.49am - School Garden

Recording 4312.	Dawn Chorus (2).	21st May ’24 – 4.04am.		Small meadow.	18m45.	Rated 8.	8020’s & MixPre3.
This was recorded in a small meadow in-between pine trees on one side and broad leaved trees on the other.  Oddly no bushes or even tall weeds grow in-between the trees, only grass.  There is slight hush of breeze in the treetops.  A Songthrush sings well for the whole recording. 	Generally a good and engaging recording.
Tuesday the 21st of May 2024.  Got up at around three am and went to the little meadow the one that is well off the gravel road it takes a few minutes walk to get there.  One side of the meadow had pines, on the other was broad leaved trees.  I forgot my hat so I had a hard time quietly swatting the mosquitoes.  The sound I got reminded me very much of what I recorded in Killarney back in the 1990’s.  A group came later to stay for two nights.  Robert bought my train ticket for Friday, and sent me a pdf to Telegram.  We tried to copy my sounds to his separate hard drive but it wouldn’t appear as a drive on my computer.  Said he would bring another one.  I went for a walk down to the Silver Birch woods.  Took it easy for the rest of the day.

Dawn Chorus (2) 21st May 2024 at 4.04am - Small Meadow

Recording 4314.	Corncrake.	22nd May ’24 – 3.26am.		Near sauna house.  14m25.	Rated 9.	8020’s & MixPre3.
A nearby Corncrake calls from the edge of a field, while in a tree nearby a Thrush Nightingale sings.  These two birds can be heard for the whole recording.  Further away a River Warbler ‘sings’ sometimes.
Wednesday the 22nd of May 2024.  Out of bed before three am, glad I was a bit early as I seemed to be on time to get the dawn chorus, as it got earlier with each passing day.  There was a lovely full moon low in the sky as I set up the Lewitt 440’s and the X8 recorder at 52db gain, this turned out to be perfect as I later saw the levels build and build towards the end when the levels were perfect at about minus one db.  Then I went around to the new road with the intention of walking up to near where it joins the main road in but near the sauna house I heard a Corncrake and Thrush Nightingale in full voice, so I stopped and set up and got a great recording, after this I went up to where I had planned and recorded the dawn chorus.  Had the 8020’s and the MixPre set up to do that.  It was not completely calm but it was okay.  When I was finished there I walked back down towards the sauna house, near there I heard a River Warbler in song, I still had the gear set up so I began to record, I didn’t have a smoke coil on it though.  Collected the first rig and went back to the house and breakfast.  At around three the large group of people left, had the place to myself again.  Went for a walk on the road in the direction of the main road.  Later I lit the fire as it was a bit cold indoors, even though it had been so warm outside during the day.  When it was late, though not dark, I went outside with the Warm Audio 84’s with the cardioid capsules and recorded the wetland sounds at the viewing spot over the river, after this I recorded the Grass Hopper Warbler that was singing nearby in the base of some Silver Birch trees, I knew I wasn’t close enough but I wanted the general atmosphere of the night.

Corncrake - 22nd May 2024 at 3.26am - Palupohja

Recording 4325.	Morning chorus (2).  23rd May ’24 – 4.40am.		School garden.	18m05.	Rated 8. 	WA84’s & X8.	A slight ‘hush’ throughout probably because the Warm Audio mics are not as quiet as other mics, though some of this sound may be caused by mosquitoes.  It is interesting to note the species to be heard . . . Pied Wagtail, Swallow, Chaffinch, Redwing, Lapwing, Thrush Nightingale, Spotted Crake, Blackbird, Spotted Flycatcher, Great Tit, Wood Pigeon, Cuckoo and Blyth’s Reed Warbler.  Around 15m00 a Pied Wagtail calls really close to the mics for a short while.
Thursday the 23rd of May 2024.  I over slept and woke at around four am.  I set up the Warm Audio 84’s with the Cardioid capsules (It had been the Omni capsules for the whole holiday up to this).  There was a slight movement of air so I left the mics in the shelter of the porch pointing out over the school garden.  Went inside and had breakfast.  Took it easy for the whole day.  Went for a walk down to another favourite place, the Silver Birch woods.  In the garden of the school I saw a common Rosefinch.  Back in the house I spent some time making another backup copy of all the recordings made up to that.  The original recordings on the cards in the recorders, and four copies, one on the netbook computer, another copy using all the various cards and USB keys, a third copy using a small capacity hard drive and the rest on a USB key and another copy on Robert’s hard drive, this is very good, to leave a copy behind in case I didn’t get mine home for whatever reason.  In the late evening I set up the 8020’s and the X8 and went outside to leave it set up nearer the Grass Hopper Warbler than I had the previous evening, put two smoke coils on it.   Had the gain lower as the mics were more sensitive and they were also closer to the bird.  Naturally the bird moved to another perch nearby, however I hoped that during the one hour twenty minutes left on the card he would pop back to his favourite perch.  After I set it up I began to have doubts, was that one hour twenty three minutes left on the card, or one minute twenty three seconds ?   I had reason to believe it was the first.  I went in and out a few times trying to figure out which clump of Birch trees he was singing at, all the time it was getting more dark.  I saw the lawn mower nearby, its lights blinking slowly, perhaps it was stuck again, earlier I had got Pilla’s mower unstuck when Robert texted me about it.  I wondered were those robot mowers worth the trouble ?  I was glad it was stuck and making no sound.  When I finished recording I went over and got it on its way again.                Then I had to see had I got the Grass Hopper Warbler, did he return to his favourite perch or was it too dark for him to see his way over ?                      The moment of truth, the recording appeared on screen.  What had happened was that within a minute when I had probably got back to the door to go inside, the bird returned to its usual singing post, had I known that I would have stopped recording sooner as I don’t need one hour twenty minutes of its song.  The right channel was at a perfect level, the left was a few db over, however it was 32 bit floating point recording so I was able to pull the levels down.  I used the 8020s and the X8 for this recording.  The wetland sounds were great, so I set up the 8020s and the MixPre and put it at the mowed viewing spot and began recording, went inside to work, when I came out to stop recording it was a good time to do so because a jet was about to fly over and I could hear some distant music start up.  It was about 1.20am or so when I got to bed.

Morning Chorus (2) - 23rd May 2024 at 4.40am - School Garden

Recording 4327.  Grass Hopper Warbler (2).  23rd May ’24 – 11.33pm.	 School garden.  18m20.  Rated 8.  8020’s & X8.
The bird is quite close.  In the distance a Spotted Crake calls and a Thrush Nightingale sings.  At 3m35 a distant Crane calls, the Grass Hopper Warbler falls silent for a short time, while the Thrush Nightingale seems to get louder, then the G.H.W begins to sing again.
Thursday the 23rd of May 2024.  I over slept and woke at around four am.  I set up the Warm Audio 84’s with the Cardioid capsules (It had been the Omni capsules for the whole holiday up to this).  There was a slight movement of air so I left the mics in the shelter of the porch pointing out over the school garden.  Went inside and had breakfast.  Took it easy for the whole day.  Went for a walk down to another favourite place, the Silver Birch woods.  In the garden of the school I saw a common Rosefinch.  Back in the house I spent some time making another backup copy of all the recordings made up to that.  The original recordings on the cards in the recorders, and four copies, one on the netbook computer, another copy using all the various cards and USB keys, a third copy using a small capacity hard drive and the rest on a USB key and another copy on Robert’s hard drive, this is very good, to leave a copy behind in case I didn’t get mine home for whatever reason.  In the late evening I set up the 8020’s and the X8 and went outside to leave it set up nearer the Grass Hopper Warbler than I had the previous evening, put two smoke coils on it.   Had the gain lower as the mics were more sensitive and they were also closer to the bird.  Naturally the bird moved to another perch nearby, however I hoped that during the one hour twenty minutes left on the card he would pop back to his favourite perch.  After I set it up I began to have doubts, was that one hour twenty three minutes left on the card, or one minute twenty three seconds ?   I had reason to believe it was the first.  I went in and out a few times trying to figure out which clump of Birch trees he was singing at, all the time it was getting more dark.  I saw the lawn mower nearby, its lights blinking slowly, perhaps it was stuck again, earlier I had got Pilla’s mower unstuck when Robert texted me about it.  I wondered were those robot mowers worth the trouble ?  I was glad it was stuck and making no sound.  When I finished recording I went over and got it on its way again.                Then I had to see had I got the Grass Hopper Warbler, did he return to his favourite perch or was it too dark for him to see his way over ?                      The moment of truth, the recording appeared on screen.  What had happened was that within a minute when I had probably got back to the door to go inside, the bird returned to its usual singing post, had I known that I would have stopped recording sooner as I don’t need one hour twenty minutes of its song.  The right channel was at a perfect level, the left was a few db over, however it was 32 bit floating point recording so I was able to pull the levels down.  I used the 8020s and the X8 for this recording.  The wetland sounds were great, so I set up the 8020s and the MixPre and put it at the mowed viewing spot and began recording, went inside to work, when I came out to stop recording it was a good time to do so because a jet was about to fly over and I could hear some distant music start up.  It was about 1.20am or so when I got to bed.

Grass Hopper Warbler (2) 23 May 2024 at 11.33pm - School Garden

Recording 4328.	Wetland night.  24th May ’24 – 12.43am.  Near school garden. 	14m30.	Rated 8.	8020’s & MixPre3.  A Spotted Crake calls quite loudly sometimes, while further away some frogs call.   In the distance a Bittern booms sometimes and a Sedge Warbler sings.  Around 8m00 and 10m00 and in the closing seconds is an odd sound.  At around 9m05 the distant Savi’s Warbler can be heard better.   
At 10m05 a moth ? flies by, it sounds like a distant motorbike.  At 13m20 a splash.  The wetland sounds were great, so I set up the 8020s and the MixPre and put it at the mowed viewing spot and began recording, went inside to work, when I came out to stop recording it was a good time to do so because a jet was about to fly over and I could hear some distant music start up.  It was about 1.20am or so when I got to bed.

Wetland Night - 24th May 2024 at 12.43am - Near School Garden

I went to Estonia for a short late summer break.  I didn't get much bird sound recordings, however I used the Hydrophone to record speedboats roaring by the riverside cabin where I was staying.

Speedboats - 8 September 2024 at 4.05pm - Estonia - A Hydrophone Recording

I am always on the lookout for people to record, especially the old as they have great memories.  I was told about this 93 year old man who lived in Aughrim, so I arranged to record him as soon as I could.  The thing I was most interested in hearing was his account of travelling on the steam train on a railway that has long since been pulled up (Maybe 80 years ago).  

He also had a lot of information on the town of Aughrim as well as his own family tree and I was hoping to record him again, but unfortunately he died recently.  His house was next to a busy road and the room we were in made for hard reflections, however it is fascinating what he had to say.  Recorded with a Sound Devices MixPre3 recorder and a Bayer M58 microphone.

Sean Kenny interview - 21 March 2024 - Aughrim County Wicklow

I am on bandcamp.com now
Two Thrush Nightingales in song.  Recorded at night beginning at 2.05am on the 20th of May 2013, in Soomaa National Park, Estonia.  This is the third of three recordings.  Some months ago I uploaded this same recording but a shorter version in 44khz/16bit, this recording is the full-length 48Khz/24Bit version.  Equipment; A matched pair of Sennheiser MKH8020 microphones, a Sound Devices MixPre microphone pre-amp and a Marantz PMD661 solid state recorder.
Recording 2502.
To help you find my other albums, here is a list of the names of the albums as sound cloud is not structured in such a way as to make it easy to find material that is a long way down or at the bottom of the page, so it is easier to search for the albums if you know their names, here is a list.
Put any of these names in the search bar and press enter.  
Central America . . . Belize.
Garden of songs.  	Forest Home.	  Out of the blue.
Jungle report.	Wild enough.	  Na Luum Ca - revisited.

South America . . . Brazil.
Xixuau   (2 disc production).
South America . . . Guyana.
Karanambu.	   Iwokrama.
South America . . . Peru   (4 disc production).
Otorongo.     	  Tahuayo. 
Europe . . . Finland.
Natures Song.	  At the blue moment.
Europe . . . Estonia.
Soomaa.
Europe . . . Wales / Ireland.
Morning Birds 3.	
Europe . . . Ireland.
Morning Birds 1 and 2.	  The joy of birdsong.	  Birds of the great Saltee.   Saltee Revisited.		Songs of silence.		Aubade.
More Suburban Birds.		 Suburban Birds (This one was never uploaded to sound cloud).

2 Thrush Nightingales - The 48khz/24Bit version

The sea at Kilpatrick, made using a J.R.F. Hydrophone and a Sound Devices MixPre3.   Made on the 20th of November 2020 at 4.53pm.   Mono.  Recording 3449.

Waves on the shore as heard from under the sand.

What a strange, odd, mixed-up year it has been.  The yellow spanner of Covid-19 really wrecked a lot of plans. I was all booked to travel to Estonia to record, but it had to be cancelled.   Very noticeable was the sunlight, perhaps it was because there was few jet trails, but when the day was cloudless the sunlight could be absolutely dazzling, it had the strange effect of making it feel like we were living in paradise.     Because of the restrictions I am so glad the woods is only within a moderate cycle distance from my home.  I am very fortunate that I have two fairly good places to record relatively close by.  I even found a wild sand dune area not even five kilometers away,  I hope to record more there in the future.   Disc 1 track 2 is from a much longer recording, it is probably one of the best recordings made during the 2020 season, I had made a few recordings, near the stream, then a bit less close, then a bit further away and another even further away, as I wanted a sound where the stream was a suggestion rather than really dominating the sound picture.  The Blue Tits nested in a cavity block in the wall of my home, there is an vent on the inside of the block, so I only needed to place the microphone up to that to get a fantastic close perspective recording.  
I include two recordings of the Blue tits as they sounded so different when I recorded them a week later.  Sometimes I would get great results by leaving the old Marantz recorder hidden in a bushy place while I go not too far away to record with the new recorder, I love how I had no idea of what it has captured for me, only later when the track loaded on the computer did I get to see if it captured anything worthwhile.  This was the case with Blackbird - alarm calls (Track 3 on disc 2).  I think the peaks came in at about minus six db.  This year was my first time to use Contact microphones and a Hydrophone.    
At the beginning of April my dad Desmond died, he was 89, a great age.  Apart from Covid, we could see he wasn’t going to live much longer, he had been deteriorating noticeably for months up to that.  Why then are the covers for the two discs so strange ?  
A birdsong production should have birds on it !   My dad was big into sun power and indeed wind power even long before it became popular.  Over by my workshop he had placed a few sun power panels on the wall, these were wired into a small room to a panel on the wall with six switches.  I thought it a good way to remember him by including a picture of part of his panel for disc one front cover.  I was going to include the six switches in the picture, but my heart of hearts said no, it didn’t look good, too much scruffy brown, but I include it in the zipped folder (If you are buying it on Bandcamp)so you can see what I am talking about.  I had almost chosen it, as it occurred to me one morning that the six switches are like the levels of lockdown (I hate that term, but I have to use it here) thankfully we didn’t have a level six, maybe that is like in a movie I saw where the authorities came and boarded up a house with the people still inside.  In the end I used the part of the photo with the meter.   
The butterflies . . . Dessie we call him, was always interested in butterflies, that is where I got my interest in nature, as a child he used to bring us for walks up along the canal to see the wild flowers and butterflies.  The picture comes from one drawer of his small collection of Irish butterflies he put together maybe around the late 1940’s or 1950’s ??  Very few of them are even in one piece now, this drawer just looked the part, it was all mixed up and spoiled like the year had been, the summer we never really had, at least not the way we wanted or had planned it.

A Strange Year - Disc One - (Album Sample)

A cabinetmaker by trade.  I have been recording birds for over 41 years.  Even as a seven year old I loved to hear the sound of birds. 
I believe that birdsong is a perfect reflection of the natural environment and yet a part of the experience of the environment.  
Over the years I have made some wildlife films and videos.  For wildlife recording I have been around Ireland, Wales, Finland, Estonia, Sweden, Belize, Guyana, Brazil, Peru and Costa Rica. At the moment I have 26 albums of birdsong/nature, most of which can be found here for free download in high quality F.L.A.C. format.
  
Birdsong is Spiritual Medicine,
a Natural Treasure 
and a Companion to Silence.

Fintan O'Brien

Pinned to spotlight

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