It's half past seven in the evening. The color of the sun is turning golden but it is still hot. It is 26 degrees outside. There are no boat owners or passengers in the harbor. There is one small building in the port where a ticket seller sits despite the fact that the last ferry of the day to Piirissaare departed half an hour ago. The water of the lake sings against the ferry's landing bridge. There are swallows nesting right under the bridge and motor boats can be heard from the lake

The sound of Lake Peipsi in Laaksaare boat harbor. Field recording. Estonia June 30, 2021

Recorded at Grundskatan, Bjuröklubb, morning the 16 May 2018. A wet area with much leafy trees (alskog) near the shore of the Bothnian bay, Bottenviken. The two Woodpeckers were foraging at the trees.
Gear: two Sennheiser MKH20 in stereo on a Jecklin disc. Recording was running for about 30 min.

Frogs and White-backed Woodpecker

Haunting Red Deer rutting in the forest of Orléans

the pond and the trees beyond with quiet inside

Late morning in Palupõhja village Alam-Pedja nature reserve, Estonia. Different little birds are chirping in the trees next to the village road when suddenly a black woodpecker comes and bangs his drum four and a half times. The recording was made in the late morning of April 17, 2023

Equipment used: Zoom F3 digital recorder An Azden microphone pre-amplifier/mixer Primo Microphones with EM172 capsules. Recorded 32 bit 48kHz

Black woodpecker drumming

30 May 2023

To get good recordings of birds you have to come close. On way of achieving this is to work with concealed microphones. It’s not easy to predict where the target bird/s will be, and I regularly fail in my attempts, but occasionally I succeed. I scouted a semi-open sandy area – a former tree seed orchard –  where I had encountered lekking Black Grouse last year, and hid a small stereo lavalier microphone overnight in the crown of an isolated small pine tree. One by one the Black Grouse males arrived in the late evening hours and immediately began displaying around the small pine tree.  

Umeå commune, Västerbotten County (63.39 N, 19.54 E)

Primo-EM172s

01_01.05

In the middle of the Black Grouse lekk

Tuesday the 20th of June 2023.  Out of bed at 2.05am.  On the road at 3.04am.  Arrived at Rosahane graveyard at 3.52am.  Set up the 440's and MixPre3 and rolled out the mic cable back to the car as I wanted to sit in while recording, much better than standing about.  It was perfectly calm, on the way up to the hills I had wondered where the light was, as it was near to the shortest night of the year, however in one place I could see some light through a break in the clouds, I had thought it was not cloudy as I saw stars before leaving. I didn't quite catch the first bird (A Robin) as the mic cable tangled as I rolled it out, however I fairly soon got it sorted and began recording, had the record gain at 70db.   After making a few recordings it began to rain.  Gradually I found I needed to reduce the gain to 62dbs.  I had made a few recordings because a few jets roared over and I had to keep stopping and starting.  After packing up I headed for home, however I had gone the short distance, as far as the field where the sheep can be found when I noticed the rain had stopped so because the gear was not completely packed away I decided to have a go at recording, especially when I could see that the sheep were closer than the other day.  Only downside of this recording is that the two birds that sang were all over to one side of the sound stage.  Eventually the rain came in again and so this was my cue to pack up and go home.  Left at 6.32am, home at 7.21am.  MixPre3 & Lewitt 440's.  Recording 4061.

Chaffinch (2) 20 June 23 - 4.52am - Rosahane Graveyard

The echoes of Eurasian Cranes are bouncing from forest edges in countryside landscape of Rõuge parish, Estonia. It is a distant corner of southern Estonia with only a few farmhouses in sight.
The song of skylarks is filling early morning spring air, goldfinches and a northern wheatear are vocalising nearby, looking for a suitable nesting site next to a small country house and several old oak trees. Other birds in the recording: wood pigeons, eurasian cuckoo, willow warbler, crow.

Spring morning soundscape in southern Estonia countryside

Psarocolius montezuma recorded at a nesting colony, near Turrialba, Costa Rica. 5.30am 2nd March 2018. Primo 172 mics AB to SONY PCM-M10
Overall winner of 2019 Competition of Wildlife Sound Recording Society
https://simontelliott.wordpress.com/2018/03/27/some-birds-have-all-the-luck/

Montezuma Oropendola

Spellbound (Acoustic)

Spring Undergrowth

A cabinetmaker by trade.  I have been recording birds for over 40 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.

Chaffinch (2) 20 June 23 - 4.52am - Rosahane Graveyard

Fintan O'Brien

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