I like birds. What can I say?

All birds were recorded by me in the United States' beautiful Pacific Northwest state of Washington.

Avian Voices

Brewer's Sparrow, Spizella breweri, is a highly abundant Sagebrush steppe bird of North America, yet it's more likely heard than seen. Tiny and well-matched for hiding the bunches it calls home, they are just as comfortable clambering through Sagebrush like rodents as they are fluttering from one low bush to another. I had my first encounter with in a high subalpine Sagebrush meadow in the Okanogan Mountains last week.

Their mirthful, playful, bubbling voices are a joy and a delight to encounter. The song seems to tumble uncontrollably out of their mouths as they teeter back-and-forth on the swaying tips of sage stalks or other thin vegetation. In fact, the sheer effort of the song seems to prevent them from sitting still, and their heads twist and turn with every phrase. 

This performance is actually several male Brewer's Sparrows singing or counter-singing to one another. I've clean-processed the recording for clarity as there was some swing-distortion and multiple distances involved, but the integrity of the performances are left as-is. 

The idea of cleaning and processing birdsong is controversial in some circles as it "removes the bird from the environment it sings in". I agree with that sentiment, but I also record lots of soundscapes which showcase just that voice-environment relationship. I want to highlight the song itself and present it as clearly and intelligibly as possible while still maintaining the integrity of the bird's voice itself. Consider this a love note to the bird's voice, not the bushes and meadows.

Also, I sell and use sound effects. Sound designers in a hurry much more prefer something they can drop-in and use than anything they'll need to clean themselves. Oh yeah, feel free to message directly in SoundCloud or click on one of my too-many social media buttons to contact me if you'd like to learn more. Happy Listening!

Read more about Brewer's Sparrows at All About Birds:
www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brewers_Sparrow/

image credit: "873 - BREWER'S SPARROW (11-8-2018) socorro co, nm -08" by Sloalan is marked with CC0 1.0

Northwest Birds

Brewer's Sparrow Performance

The Willow Flycatcher, Empidonax traillii, looks as most Tyrant Flycatchers do: challenging, daring you to identify it. The Tyrant Flycatchers all bear a striking resemblance to one another, with some species being almost impossible to discern until they open their beaks to sing. Their buzzy, sharp, staccato syllables are as key to correctly identifying one as the bright patterns and colorations on more vibrant birds.
Unlike most songbirds, Flycatchers don't learn their songs from their parents, but are born knowing it. Willow Flycatchers play a key role in testing this as researchers raised chicks from hatchling hearing only the songs of other Flycatchers, yet as they matured they knew and sang the Willow Flycatcher fitz-pew as if they'd never heard anything else.

Read more about Willow Flycatchers at All About Birds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Willow_Flycatcher/

If you'd like to hear more or license bird sounds for your project, feel free to message me directly in SoundCloud or click on one of my too-many social media buttons. Happy Listening!

Image Credit "578 - WILLOW FLYCATCHER (6-4-08) carrizo, saucito ranch lower spring, carrizo plain nat mon, slo co, ca" by Sloalan is marked with CC0 1.0

Willow Flycatcher

I don't often share the process I go through in prepping bird recordings for licensing and presentation, so I thought I'd share an A-B demonstration. In rapid-fire succession here are a number of Willow Flycatcher song clips, each immediately followed by the original.

The Willow Flycatcher, Empidonax traillii, looks as most Tyrant Flycatchers do: challenging, daring you to identify it. The Tyrant Flycatchers all bear a striking resemblance to one another, with some species being almost impossible to discern until they open their beaks to sing. Their buzzy, sharp, staccato syllables are as key to correctly identifying one as the bright patterns and colorations on more vibrant birds.

Unlike most songbirds, Flycatchers don't learn their songs from their parents, but are born knowing it. Willow Flycatchers play a key role in testing this as researchers raised chicks from hatchling hearing only the songs of other Flycatchers, yet as they matured they knew and sang the Willow Flycatcher fitz-pew as if they'd never heard anything else.


Read more about Willow Flycatchers at All About Birds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Willow_Flycatcher/

The idea of cleaning and processing birdsong is controversial in some circles as it "removes the bird from the environment it sings in". I agree with that sentiment, but I also record lots of soundscapes which showcase just that voice-environment relationship. I want to highlight the song itself and present it as clearly and intelligibly as possible while still maintaining the integrity of the bird's voice itself. Also, I sell and use sound effects. Sound designers in a hurry much more prefer something they can drop-in and use than anything they'll need to clean themselves.

If you'd like to hear more or license bird sounds for your project, feel free to message me directly in SoundCloud or click on one of my too-many social media buttons. Happy Listening!

Image Credit "578 - WILLOW FLYCATCHER (6-4-08) carrizo, saucito ranch lower spring, carrizo plain nat mon, slo co, ca" by Sloalan is marked with CC0 1.0

Willow Flycatcher Cleaning

If you've ever been in a Northern forest and thought you heard some tiny creature maniacally laughing at you, chances are it was the Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regulus satrapa. A hardy yet tiny bird, the Golden-crown Kinglet is found throughout the boreal forest of North America. I happened to record this little fellow on the Olympic Peninsula where they are resident in June of 2021.

This is a clean-processed recording. All background sound and noise has been carefully removed in an effort to focus on the bird's voice. 

Read more about Golden-crowned Kinglets at All About Birds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Golden-crowned_Kinglet

If you'd like to hear more or license bird sounds for your project, feel free to message me directly in SoundCloud or click on one of my too-many social media buttons. Happy Listening!

image credit: "707 - GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET (6-2-2015) franklin co, maine -01" by Sloalan is marked with CC0 1.0

Golden-crowned Kinglet

A tiny little bird with an outsized voice, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula, is a bird of the Northern forests. Fearless defenders of their nests, males have been known to chase away Canada Jay mobs raiding for egg meals. The bird in this recording was putting on a continual arial display while I sat eating my lunch. Perched out on a fir limb around 20 feet up, it would sing and promptly flit out around 4-5 feet. After a few somersaults and maybe a hover it would return to the perch (or another nearby) and repeat. I say it did this while I ate my lunch... that just happens to be when I recorded it. It began its display during dawn while I slept nearby in a tent and continued with hardly a break through dusk.

I've been posting clean-processed recordings lately, with an eye towards celebrating the birds' voices. I chose to leave this one un-mastered, "raw" save for removing mic bumps and me coughing, just to show how quiet the location is. Adjust your volume until the Kinglet is at a comfortable listening level. That's what it was like.

Read more about Ruby-crowned Kinglets at All About Birds: www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet

If you'd like to hear more or license bird sounds for your project, feel free to message me directly in SoundCloud or click on one of my too-many social media buttons. Happy Listening!

Image credit: "708 - RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET (2)" by Sloalan is marked with CC0 1.0

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Swainson's Thrush, Catharus ustulatus, Thrushes and Allies, long take of a single male Swainson's Thrush singing, natural pace and rhythm maintained, cleanly processed from parabolic recording

Recorded in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, Washington, United States

image credit: "744 - SWAINSON'S THRUSH (5-8-2016) patagonia lake, santa cruz co, az -01" by Sloalan is marked with CC0 1.0

BIRDSong Thrushes And Allies - Swainson's Thrush

CLOUD SOUND

Disquiet Junto Project 0566: Outdoor Furniture Music
The Assignment: Imagine the ur-ambient Erik Satie musique d’ameublement concept en plein air

I listened to some of Eric Saties tracks for musique d’ameublement, like Tapisserie en fer forgé and knew, it has to be very repetitive. I was lazy and took a track I was already working on and cut away everything non-repetitive, plus I changed the instrumentation to something more orchestral and Satie-esq and the key to Am (in which Carrelage Phonique seems to be). I wanted it to have beauty and regular irregularities. I added some field recordings (from France ;-) to give a feeling of listening to this musique d'aménagement de jardin outdoors. Like all good wallpaper, the pattern repeats loopable.

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Track image by DALL·E: "Versailles style garden with repetitive hedgerows, hedgerows formed like furniture, hedgerows of different size, oil painting by Caspar David Friedrich" and yes it ignored a lot of my prompt.

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More on this 566th weekly Disquiet Junto project — Outdoor Furniture Music (The Assignment: Imagine the ur-ambient Erik Satie musique d’ameublement concept en plein air) — at: https://disquiet.com/0566/

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co: https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0566-outdoor-furniture-music/

disquiet3download

The Comfort Of Hedges [disquiet0566]

A male European nightjar delivers his strange motor like song from one of his favorite song post before moving to the next one, ending his trill by a joyful wing clap.

Lyon countryside, late spring.
2023-06-10, 22h

Lom Usi Pro, Sony PCM M10

Recorded by Grégoire Chauvot & Mélia Roger

Illustration : John Gerrard Keulemans, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

European nightjar, Song and wing clap - Mélia Roger & Grégoire Chauvot

El conjunto del canto de ranas del Zarzal o trepadoras (Hypsiboas pulchellus) genera una obra sonora natural, acompañada de grillos y el sonido del mar.
En su etapa de reproducción su llamado es muy sonoro, metálico y musical, producido por la rápida vibración de las cuerdas vocales que se amplifican por el saco vocal.

//ENG
The singing of the Zarzal frogs or climbers (Hypsiboas pulchellus) generates a natural sound work, accompanied by crickets and the sound of the sea.
In its reproduction stage, its call is very loud, metallic and musical, produced by the rapid vibration of the vocal cords that are amplified by the vocal sac.


—
Grabación de campo realizada en un charcal a orillas de la
Playa Bello Horizonte, Costa Azul, Uruguay
05-04-2023 02:00 AM

Concierto de Ranas del Zarzal

Recorded in binaural format so please wear headphones for an immersive experience. 

These are results of numerous tests of a modular rain shower diffuser and roof built to protect capsules of a binaural microphone from rain moisture as well as providing shelter against low frequency thumps hitting the windscreen. 

This protective device can be used not only in binaural settings, but also in AB, ORTF, XY, MS and other microphone configurations. 

Contact if in need of one. 

Gear list: Soundman OKM II Classic A3, ZOOM F3, BEN: Binaural Encoding Node (Dummy Head).

Links to more rain and thunderstorms recordings in Germany and Ghana:

https://theecomusicproject.bandcamp.com/album/thunderstorms-and-a-resident-cricket-germany-binaural

https://theecomusicproject.bandcamp.com/album/summer-rain-bad-berka-binaural

https://theecomusicproject.bandcamp.com/album/thunderstorms-acoustic-diffuser-test-samples-germany-binaural

https://theecomusicproject.bandcamp.com/album/tropical-rainfall-ghana-binaural-2

Feel free to contact for licensing.

Recorded in a suburban settlement in Thuringia State of Germany.

In the Sound: Rain showers in low and high intensities, rolling thunders far and near, repetitive voice of a cricket in the right channel, feint bells in the left channel, subtle human activity and autos.

released August 15, 2023 on Bandcamp.

Thunderstorms And A Resident Cricket, Germany #1.  Binaural

Recorded respectfully on the land of the Nuennone people.

The Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae victoriae) is not native to Tasmania: it was deliberately introduced there - by an ornithology group. Between 1934 and 1949, 22 Superb Lyrebirds were released at Mt Field National Park in the mid south and at Hastings in the far south. The Lyrebirds flourished, and continue to spread widely. Today, experts estimate that their population must be well over 10,000, if not even higher. The Superb Lyrebird has basically 'gone feral'.  And it's known to be having some negative impacts on forest ecosystems. However, one thing that I haven't yet seen discussed or studied is what negative acoustic-ecological impacts Lyrebirds might be having upon native and especially endemic Tasmanian bird species. Some forest soundscapes are being overwhelmed by multiple Lyrebirds, spread through the forest, simultaneously performing intricate, complex and well-projected mimicry for very long periods of time. Fascinating as this is, it's very hard to believe that the native and endemic bird species can communicate naturally and effectively, as they need to do, when such mayhem is going on.

2023.09.24 Superb Lyrebird Mimicking Other Birds. Dawn. Huon Valley. Early Spring.

Transfert
for 10 musicians & ambisonics electronics

Opening of a 32mn piece.

Live recording at IRCAM Centre Pompidou
January 17th 2023

Ensemble TM+
Laurent Cuniot, cond.
Augustin Muller & FCD, electronics
Augustin Muller, live electronics
Sylvain Cadars, live sound
Jérémie Bourgogne, live recording

Transfert - for 10 musicians & electronics - TM+ IRCAM (2022)

Recorded shortly after a shower during the rainy season in the Atlantic Forest Reserve Mbaracayú, Paraguay. 

This dusk chorus climax is dominated by amphibians. After some initial research, the species heard are Leptodactylus elenae (or fuscus?), Leptodactylus mystacinus and a Dendrosophus (minutus or nanus). 

If anyone reading this can help to confirm or correct any of the ID, please get in touch. Thank you for listening!

Mbaracayú Dusk Climax

Made a few evenings ago while messing around with a patch I created in Vital. Additional bass sounds from TAL-Mod.

The track contains some samples from the Kenopsia pack by Emtpyvessel

The witches' path: Three cauldrons

Deux exemples du chant d'un Siffleur des montagnes de Martinique. Expl 01 oiseau isolé à la parabole. Expl02 oiseau en ambiance cardioide.

SIFFLEUR DES MONTAGNES F Deroussen

Field Recordist / Sound designer
Shhhhh. Listening to nature.

To license sounds or for all other inquiries: info@andymartinsound.com

#naturesound #naturesoundscape #fieldrecording #naturesounds #savequiet #listentonature #soundscape

BIRDSong Thrushes And Allies - Swainson's Thrush

Andy Martin, Field Recordist

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