Calm morning birds

A redwing singing. Every spring they fill our town with their melodious, long-winded tunes.

Redwing Singing

Old stuff that I thought merited being somewhere, better music this year

Maurauder

Really living (Prod me)

Birdsong

Up out of bed at 4.47am.  On the road at 5.38am.  Arrived at Ballinvally woods at 6.09am.  It was a beautiful morning, a small amount of cloud cover, cool, calm and dry.  3C or so.  I set up the Rode NTG-8 gun mic and stayed most of the time near to where I had parked.  I had never recorded along a hedgerow nearby, but a Blackcap singing attracted me over.  A lot of low flying jets went over, I would say it was the early morning flights from Dublin airport, they were all heading south.  Not far enough south to gain much altitude.  Not much to say, I just recorded whatever presented itself, before I went around to the stream to get a few minutes worth of that, maybe more if the jets allowed.  The stream was really quiet, usually it is only like that in summer if it has been really dry, I was glad because I don't like noisy moving water as it is too much like white/pink or brown noise.   At home I processed the recordings and had fun putting together the sounds into a sort of medley, I tried mixing the stream sound over it, I think it works well and is a nice memory of the morning.  Left for home at 7.30am, home at 8.03am.  The picture  shows the hedgerow where the Blackcap sang.

Medley Of Birds - 8 April 2025 - Ballinvally Woods

Got up at 4.55am.  Left for a place that is down a back road west of Kilcarra, I don't think the road has a name.  However I arrived at 6.05am.  As soon as I got out of the car I could hear noise from the motorway, there was not enough drift of air from the west or north-west to keep the noise at bay, so I decided to go around to Moorshill to where I recorded the House Sparrows.  Probably took about ten minutes to get around there.  This left me somewhat late, however I set up the long gun mic and got to work.  I walked westwards to get a bit further away from the swish of traffic on the motorway.  First I recorded some interesting calls from a Blue Tit.  Walked on further recording whatever bird was to be heard. Various birds sang and called, the best part was near the left turn that brings one towards the wind turbines on the hill at Ballinvally (A pine woods).  There are two Ballinvally woods, this one, while the other is north-west of Arklow and is where I do most of my recording.  I knew that beyond the bend in the road there would be basically nothing to record as the hedgerows there are cut down to a butt, however the hedge before that was quite nice, I didn't know about it, glad I found it as it contained a good few birds, I even heard a few Starlings, a sound I love to hear, the downward note they make sometimes is beautiful, like it is saying calm . . . calmmmmmn.  Starlings are odd in that they sing in winter but only make odd noises in summer, like a flower that only flowers in winter while nearly all others flower in spring and summer.  The quality is not in this recording, however I was pleasantly surprised at the range of species I encountered.  Left for home at 7.32am, arrived back at 7.51am.  It was a cool, dry, nearly calm morning.

Medley of Birds - 7th April 25-631am - Ballinvally Lower

Oosh, difficult to get close to these guys singing, I've always struggled as they always seem to see or hear me coming and drop straight down from the top of the tree to cover. Couldn't actually see this bird but think it worked in my favour lol. 

Gear: Sound Devices MixPre 6 ii / Telinga Dish w/Schoeps Mk 2 + Stereo MK 2's 

Mistle Thrush Song - MixPre-7629

Skylark x1 and x8 slower

Dawn_ruffmix3 16 44

The Siglufjörður Bird Association is an independent association of birdwatchers and nature lovers in Siglufjörður. The association was founded out of a shared passion and interest in birds and their habitats. Members strive to observe, record and protect the rich birdlife of the area. Our observation area extends from Fljót to Eyjafjörður, although the main focus is on Siglufjörður.

Eggboy are Ed and John Ward.  We've been making music together all our lives and doing Eggboy Music since 1994

A cabinetmaker by trade.  I have been recording birds for over 41 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.

New tracks tagged #Birdsong