Bird Calls

I know it's a repetitive song but they do have a smooth tone to them and if you listen carefully there are two nice fly-bys from large flocks of Wood Pigeon that are feeding in the valley.

Gear: Mixpre 6 ii + Stereo Mk3 / V2 Dish

Gavin Vella

Nuthatch 05.02.20 MixPre - 439 01.WAV

This is far from a perfect recording. It's very difficult following a bird around that you can barely see as it's pitch black and all you have is your ears and a very narrow focused microphone. Could almost do with a shotfun for these close encounters that often happen with this curious species that comes quite close to check you out. If you listen carefully you can also hear a Bat flying past.

Gear: Mixpre 6 + Telinga Stereo Mk2

Nightjar Call 48khz MIXPRE - 101 01 01.WAV

I love finding mimicking species. It not only demonstrates their abilities but it also makes those birds totally unique. Should I ever find or record that bird again, the chances are it will still be mimicking a Magpie. It's like their way of making themselves stand out from the rest of their species. I am the male, that mimicks a Magpie, because I can!

Blackcap Mimicking Magpie 14.07.19 -047 01.WAV

It's not very often you get to hear the Female Nightjar, so I've blended two recordings here you so you can hear the difference between the two. The Female starts off with a fast, raw chuck, often compared to the sound of a chicken cluck. The males have a soft, upturned call that you'll more often hear whilst they feed, almost as if it's used as echolocation, but this is not the case, as far as we're aware.

Gear: Mixpre 6 + Telinga Stereo Mk2

Female & Male Nightjar Interaction 22.07.19 101,119

Such a small Flycatcher, and with it, a very small delicate sound that goes missed by many.

Spotted Flycatcher Calls - MixPre - 1802 01.WAV

Whilst monitoring Nightjar we stumbled across this begging sound coming from within the clearfell itself (on the ground). I presume it's Woodcock chicks but I've never heard this before and struggling to find any examples online.

** update, it turns out this was actually Nightjar chicks!! Never heard them begging before so this is a great recording to log. **

Mystery Begging Sound - MixPre - 1893 01.WAV

I've been hearing this family of Goshawks all season at one of my local woodlands but naturally kept my distance as they are a protected species and I don't have a license, nor intend on getting one, but now the chicks have fledged they're wondering the woodland and often come into range of the dish, which has a much greater reach than any lense I possess so it's much easier to keep a safe distance. It was great watching the two chicks trying to capture the same Squirrel, both failing epically but they've got to start somewhere.

Goshawk Fledglings - MixPre - 1973 01.WAV

Green Woodpecker - MixPre - 2004 01.WAV

I can't say I've ever noticed this 'click' sound at the end of a Magpie call but thanks to the Telinga, you get to hear birds in so much more detail than you otherwise would. The bird was a juvenile and you can hear his siblings doing the same sort of calls in the background. 

Gear: Sound Devices Mixpre 6 ii + Telinga Stereo Mk 3

Juvenile Magpie Click - MixPre - 2042 01.WAV

There must be fledgelings around, as this alarming performance was relentless 

Gear: Sound Devices Mixpre 6 ii + Telinga Stereo Mk 3

Wren Alarm Call - MixPre - 2049 01.WAV

I hate it when Reed Warblers stop singing as it's a sure sign that summer is coming to an end and it becomes more difficult to tell if it's a young bird or an adult within the reeds. It sounds like there could have been multiple chicks in this small reed bed but there was a phrase of the song every now and again, so could be an adult or a learning juvenile finding its voice for the first time. 

Gear: Sound Devices Mixpre 6 ii + Telinga Stereo Mk 3

Reed Warbler Chick - MixPre - 2083 01.WAV

Till this year I've never really had the enthusiasm to record wader species, as it's usually quite windy on the coastline, which isn't so great for a parabolic dish. This particular morning however was windless so a trip to Goldcliff at high-tide was imminent. 

Gear: Sound Devices Mixpre 6 ii + Telinga Stereo Mk 3

Black - Tailed Godwits - MixPre - 2097 01.WAV

Little Egret + Wader Flock - MixPre - 2337 01.WAV

A planned dusk session after dark, you can hear several species but Black-tailed Godwits were most numerous in this flock.

Gear: Sound Devices Mixpre 6 ii + Telinga Stereo Mk 3

Black - Tailed Godwits - MixPre - 2322 01.WAV

There are several species in this recording, most prominent are the Greylag and Canada Geese, but you can also hear Mallard, Teal, Oystercatcher, Black-tailed Godwits, Ringed Plover, Curlew,  Coot, Lapwing and my favourite sound of a Green Sandpiper piping in the background. 

Gear: Sound Devices Mixpre 6 ii + Telinga Stereo Mk 3

Green Sandpiper + Supporting Cast - MixPre - 2345.WAV

By this point it was completely dark, so totally relying upon hearing to isolate individual birds amongst the flock. There's no greater tool for this Job than a parabolic Dish, though not ideal for collecting the full sound. 

Gear: Sound Devices Mixpre 6 ii + Telinga Stereo Mk 3

Little Ringed Plover - MixPre - 2347.WAV

Another mixed bag, but mostly Curlew, Whimbrel, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, BHG's, Greylags, Lapwing and Oystercatchers

Gear: Sound Devices Mixpre 6 ii + Telinga Stereo Mk 3

Curlew  Flock- MixPre - 2361.WAV

This will likely be the last session of the season on the Nightjar as this is a short documentary recording of a Tawny Owl hunting low over the nest-site and continually pestering the birds. I believe the chicks were predated before this but the Tawny Owl was persistent enough that it's probably seeing if there's more to be had. I found the female roosting the other side of the clear-fell the next day, so this encounter was the real deal.

Nightjar Alarm Calls MixPre - 2396 01.WAV

A difficult bird to get decent recordings of these as they never keep still but today wasn't ideal to use the dish, as winds were a little high, which is difficult for a number of reasons but mostly because the dish amplifies the sound of the wind in the trees, which can cover over articulation from your subject. I actually used noise reduction here a little, just to take the edge off the wind, which seemed to do the trick. 

Gear: Sound Devices Mixpre 6 ii + Telinga Stereo Mk 3

Lesser Redpoll - MixPre - 2622 01.WAV

So it begins, the winter thrushes have arrived and the first bird on the deck for me to record was this small flock of Fieldfare. 

Gear: Sound Devices Mixpre 6 ii + Telinga Stereo MK 3

Low-cut to remove unwanted wind and handling noise (my own fault).