Shapwick Heath NNR at dawn; on the edge of woodland and reedbed.

A short sample of a 32bit WAV recording on a 1" XY stereo mic. rendered down to 24bit stereo.

Recording & Photo: Bob Ashington

Where wood meets water - at dawn

OK I confess; I love all wildlife sounds - not just birdsong (WildlifeSoundsBob just wasn't that catchy!)

Whilst out this morning recording the dawn chorus (more on that later) I was lucky enough to catch this startled male Roe before he pronged off protesting.

Startled Roebuck

Two glorious songsters at once - what a treat!  This Nightingale is only passing through and so really is only warming up here, perhaps spurred on by the nearby Blackbird.  There's even a train too (always is at Corfe)!

Photo: James Ashington

Nightingale vs Blackbird

Quite a few species on this atmospheric snapshot of a wonderful reserve, including the bird I went there to record - the purring Turtle Dove.

Early morning; early summer; enjoy!

Photo: James Ashington

Martin Down NNR - summer soundscape

I made this recording on the edge of one of the Forest lawns hidden within a group of thorns.  All around me, feeding on the berries, were a group of mixed thrushes and starlings and in a nearby stand I could hear a Fallow buck.  Many of the birds here are winter migrants - birds newly arrived to overwinter in our milder, Atlantic climate.

Listen out for Robin, Blackbird, Redwing, Fieldfare, Starling, Jay, and of course the Fallow deer among others.

For me, this combination of sounds just seems to speak of Autumn.

New Forest  - an autumnal soundscape

A Starling murmuration is always a wonderful sight in the depths of winter.  The recent hard weather abroad has forced many birds to move to warmer areas (known as a cold weather movement).  This has brought thousands of Starlings to our bit of Dorset and resulted in a small reedbed near Studland becoming - almost overnight - a desirable place to roost.  The resulting pre-roost acrobatics have become quite a local attraction too!  At times bird numbers are estimated to exceed 10,000 individuals so raptors are attracted in too; the photo shows the starling flock taking evasive action when a Merlin arrives.

The wave-like sounds are the wings of the birds as the starlings come in low over the reedbed just before they land to roost.

Recording & Photo: Bob Ashington - Dorset, Hampshire & IoW Team

Starling murmuration - Studland

Even though it was a bit of a blustery day I thought I'd try my luck recording at the RSPB Lodmoor Reserve.  This is an excellent location to find some of our earliest migrants - the 'leaf warblers' (so called for their colours).   It is still a bit early for the rarer Wood Warbler but Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler were there in abundance; often several in the same tree.  Unfortunately the strong breeze also magnified the local traffic noise a bit too but you can't have everything!

Leaf warblers at Lodmoor

And finally, a range of vocalisations and individual pieces from the Natters.

Natterjack nights - 3

Sharing our love of wildlife and the natural world through sound recordings taken from our National Nature Reserves and the wider countryside. 

Use headphones to really enjoy these recordings.

Where wood meets water - at dawn

Natural England

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