Fishing port ambience, recorded in Cobh, Co. Cork, Ireland. This is a location I know very well and have visited since I was a young boy, often looking for gulls and turnstone which feed on fish scraps on the shore. Listen as the waves gently lap against the shore, with herring gulls, black-headed gulls, hooded crows, rock pipits, and more, calling in the background.

Fishing Port Ambience: The Camber, Cobh, Co. Cork

Waves crashing against a small cliff with a hollow, situated along the Irish Sea, near Arklow Co. Wicklow.

Crashing Waves, Arklow, Co. Wicklow - Ireland

Gentle waves lapping against a decurved fort wall located in Cobh, Co. Cork. The intention here was to record feral pigeons which live inside old drainage holes in the wall, however, they did not appear on the day. A job for another time!

Gentle Wave Textures - Cobh Fort, Cobh, Co. Cork

Mixed Tern Flock - Lady's Island Lake, Co. Wexford - Summer 2022

Two mics were dropped into a blowhole system in the rocks along the Wicklow coastline. The results were astounding, as the incoming tide forced air and water into tiny spaces, before causing them both to blow out through whatever gaps allowed, often with very audible results.

Inside the Blowhole

A moment of moderate wind hiss through a line of mature Scots pine trees, which bend and creak, near the summit of Tara Hill, Co. Wexford.

Wind & Creaking Trees - Tara Hill

Winter Sunrise Soundscape on the Wexford Coastline

A river flows through an upland bog, bordered by a conifer plantation in Oughterard, Co. Galway.

Upland Stream - Oughterard, Co. Galway

An eclectic mixture of shorebirds and waterfowl awaken to a calm winter's morning with big surf, at Tacumshin Lake Special Protection Area, Co. Wexford, Ireland.

Tacumshin Sunrise: Big Surf & Winter Waterbirds

Mating Common Frogs

When I was younger - this was my go-to happy place. 

When I was burdened with the stress of final exams and whatever else seemed like a big deal to my then teenage self, this is where I came to escape. Thinking back, I have always sought and found solace in nature. 

It was nice to step back here today, some fifteen years later, and pay some respect and really listen to the site that gave me so much for many years. I spent a good two hours here alone in my thoughts, in my old-school happy place. 

It turns out this place still has the same effect. I'm sure I will revisit soon, and I'll certainly listen to this track when I need to unwind but can't get out. I hope you enjoy it and can get some idea of the solace and joy I get from this place.

Roche's Point: Waves At High Tide

Red Squirrel Gnawing Pine Cones

Big Surf

Surf, Stream, Wind & Rain

Danube Delta Chorus

Zarnesti Gorge: Dusk Chorus & Rock Slide

Basilica of the Holy Blood - Christmas Day 2023

Sint-Annatunnel (Antwerp, Belgium)

Antwerp City Ambience - 26/12/23

Antwerp Train Station - 26/12/23

Calling song of a Roesel's Bush-cricket along a stretch of sandy coastal grass in Co. Cork, Ireland. This is one of only two (as far as I am aware) known Irish sites for this wonderful species. It sounds to me like the buzz of electricity from a wet pylon.

Roesel's Bush-cricket & Gentle Waves

Sunrise at an Irish raised bog and bog woodland mosaic in Co. Offaly. 

Raised bogs in Ireland, and other countries alike, have been drained and terribly over-exploited for fuel and horticultural products, particularly in the previous and current centuries. As a result, this extremely slow-forming habitat is now *much* rarer than what it once was, at least in an ecologically healthy state. 

Commercial mining of peat is coming to an end, but these precious spaces now face a new threat in the form of large-scale wind farms with accompanied draining and development. Of course we cannot continue to rely on fossil fuels, and renewable energy development is a must. But this needs to be approached with care, and turbines need to be placed in areas with the least impact to both humans and other creatures with which we share the planet. 

Some sites have undergone the first steps towards rehabilitation and rewetting - let's hope that this happens on a much needed larger scale across the country. We can't keep taking from nature - it will eventually break as is very much evident in Ireland. It's long since time stopped taking and gave back!

Bog Woodland at Dawn

A stormy snippet at dusk from a blustery woodland in my hometown of Cobh, Co. Cork. Expect creaking branches, rainfall, gusting winds, and a number of bird species, including redwing, robin, goldcrest, and jackdaw.

Windy Evening Wood

Rain hits the car roof and windshield during a strong downpour. A song thrush sings faintly in the distance.

Day2: Rain On Car

A newly formed stream trickles past my mics after a heavy downpour in a hilly conifer plantation.

Day 3: After the deluge

I tested out a new wind system today - the Rycote Cyclone. I loved it and can't wait for some real wind to return. Am I mad? This location is very special to me. It's my place of escape - I feel so free here. Today I focused on the sea. Even though it wasn't particularly windy, the surf made up for that with an unusual tenacity. It sounded immense.

Day 4: Pounding Breakers

Storm Isha hit Ireland today and brought with it heavy rain and wind. This piece was recorded in a local wood with the winds still gaining momentum. At this point they were about 55km/hr. It was amazing to sit there and just listen to the different sounds everything made. Each tree had a unique sound, just like human voices. Almost as if each one had seen and experienced things unique to itself. Some were creaking quite heavily, which made me nervous. When you're sitting next to a tree, many times your size, as it creaks and groans in the wind, it makes you realise just how small we are in the grander scheme of things. I guess you could call it humbling. Some trees had come down, and they hadn't been down long, so I was right to feel unsafe. Despite this intense weather, there were still birds feeding and calling. As I sat still, a red squirrel ran by, and seemed to pausedas a nearby tree left out a rumbling groan, as it fought off the forces of the wind. Moments like this make me realise that nature is a far more powerful force than humankind, despite us sometimes thinking otherwise.

Storm Isha

A soothing breeze wisps through the trees in the Irish uplands. Branches and trunks creak as resident birds gently begin their spring displays. Listen out for Crossbill, Coal Tit, Skylark, and more.

Soothing Upland Breeze

Rain gently pitter-patters on a coastal saltmarsh pool after dark. Surf roars behind the protection of a sand dune, which in turn provides shelter for wintering waterfowl. Mute and Whooper Swans call to one another as they browse on aquatic vegetation. Wigeon whistles cut through the cold air as they paddle and nibble at peace in the wild blackness.

Gentle Rain, Soothing Surf, Whispering Wildfowl

A Blackbird serenades the air at dawn from a coastal Gorse bush atop a rocky cliff in East Cork. His sweet melodic tune wafts through the air pairing perfectly with the fragrant piña colada aromas of the sun-yellow Gorse flowers. A Stonechat gently sings in the distance. Crashing waves below remind us of our seaside location. Spring is truly in the air and this handsome black and orange lad wants to attract a partner but also let other competitors know that he's fit, healthy, attractive and is laying a claim to this spot.

Blackbird on the Cliffs

On a mission to sound record all of Ireland's bird species: I am an ornithologist who loves to get out in and sound record nature. Happiest when as far away from anthropogenic noise as possible, although I do and will record and share it now and then, when I am in an interesting location.

This account is intended to host my longer bird recordings and recordings which don't belong on Xeno-canto (general nature sounds such as waves, weather, etc, as well as any other non-avian sounds)

Most of my birds recordings (almost 5000) can be found on my Xeno-canto page: https://xeno-canto.org/contributor/PAEQEUHPFQ

See my website here: http://irishwildlifesounds.com/

I primarily record with the following:

-Dodotronic Hi-Sound Stereo Parabola
-Audio Technica BP4025
-Clippy EM272 matched pair

-Zoom F6
-Olympus LS-12
-SM4 Mini: 2 x permanent devices living in coastal bird hotspots, recording every night of the year, from dusk to dawn, monitoring nocturnal migration of birds.

Irish Wildlife Sounds

Pinned to spotlight

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