1st of June 2022.  Got out of bed at 1.55am.  Left for Ballinvally at 3.08am.  Arrived at 3.35am.   
I parked at the entrance to Sporting Lodge Woods.  It was still almost dark and as I got near the Beech trees (that line the road down hill and end at the upper entrance to Ballinvally woods) I heard a lot of calls from some type of mammal, I went into the Beech trees and was surprised to find that whatever it was didn‘t run away, so I soon found out that the sounds came from a group of Badgers.  I set up nearby at the edge of the pine plantation, the Badgers didn’t go away, indeed one even came over towards me.  I had a feeling that if I set up the recorder and mic that they might chewed it up, so I put the recorder and mic (Tascam and NT4 Omni) up into the dense branches of a pine tree.  Set the recording gain at 50db.

Went quickly down to my prepared area, up hill from the farmhouse.  Set up the Rode NT2A’s and the MixPre3 and got going.  Stood there till about 5.30am recording.  The birdsong was not as strong as I felt it should have been, however not too many jets went over, only five for the whole two hours or more, so it was not too bad.   The drift of air was from the north-west, a perfect direction for that woods.   It was a near calm, dry, partly cloudy morning, about 9°C.  

Left for home at 6.25am.  Arrived home at 6.55am.  When processing the recordings I saw that the ‘drop-rig’ recordings were of perfect level, even better that if I had been there watching the levels, minus two db on the highest peak.  Recordings were made in Ballinvally Woods, north-west of Arklow in County Wicklow, Ireland.  
Recording 3823. 
Rode NT4 with Omni capsules & Tascam DR100Mk3.

Dawn Chorus (5) 1 June 22 - 4.33am - Ballinvally

1st of June 2022.  Got out of bed at 1.55am.  Left for Ballinvally at 3.08am.  Arrived at 3.35am.   
I parked at the entrance to Sporting Lodge Woods.  It was still almost dark and as I got near the Beech trees (that line the road down hill and end at the upper entrance to Ballinvally woods) I heard a lot of calls from some type of mammal, I went into the Beech trees and was surprised to find that whatever it was didn‘t run away, so I soon found out that the sounds came from a group of Badgers.  I set up nearby at the edge of the pine plantation, the Badgers didn’t go away, indeed one even came over towards me.  I had a feeling that if I set up the recorder and mic that they might chewed it up, so I put the recorder and mic (Tascam and NT4 Omni) up into the dense branches of a pine tree.  Set the recording gain at 50db.

Went quickly down to my prepared area, up hill from the farmhouse.  Set up the Rode NT2A’s and the MixPre3 and got going.  Stood there till about 5.30am recording.  The birdsong was not as strong as I felt it should have been, however not too many jets went over, only five for the whole two hours or more, so it was not too bad.   The drift of air was from the north-west, a perfect direction for that woods.   It was a near calm, dry, partly cloudy morning, about 9°C.  

Left for home at 6.25am.  Arrived home at 6.55am.  When processing the recordings I saw that the ‘drop-rig’ recordings were of perfect level, even better that if I had been there watching the levels, minus two db on the highest peak.  Recordings were made in Ballinvally Woods, north-west of Arklow in County Wicklow, Ireland.  
Recording 3821.
Rode NT2A’s & the MixPre3 recorder.

Dawn Chorus (3) 1 June 22 - 4.18am - Ballinvally

This calming recording captures skylarks and corn buntings singing across the prairie at dawn. Recoded on the outskirts of Tsilkani.

Sony PCM A10 + 2 x LOM Mikro Usi
27.05.2022

Dawn In The Prarie - Tsilkani, Georgia -

During a visit to Stepantsminda in the Kazbegi municipality I left a drop rig overnight, with the mics attached to a tree in a mixed birch and pine forest. I was blown away by the beauty of the Greater Caucasus mountains.

Sony PCM A10 + 2 x LOM Mikro Usi
28.05.2022

Dawn Chorus - Stepantsminda, Kazbegi, Georgia

The dawn chorus in Burgh-Haamstede in Zeeland, The Netherlands.
An overnight recording of witch you can hear from 05.00 till 07.45 u.
You can really hear the difference when at 05.15 u other birds wake up and start to sing.
If you listen carefully you can hear the church bells of the next village.
Enjoy listening.
Recorded with Lewitt LCT-440 p in ORTF on Zoom F6.

Dawn Chorus - Burgh-Haamstede NL

Testing my budget M/S recording setup by using an AKG CK94 and Lewitt LCT040. Recorded into Zoom F6, lowcut at 95Hz and slightly boosted up at 3kHz.

Dawn Chorus

Dawn chorus at Rocky Creek dam in the Northern Rivers area of NSW, Australia. Recording starts at about 0500 (pre first light) and captures the early sounds of the inhabitants starting their day. Frogs, Bats and insects occupy the first section of the recording including performances from the Great barred frog and Eastern dwarf tree frogs . As the light increases, a rowdy bunch of Log runners are the prominent call, almost dominating the sound scape. When things calm down a bit, the doves and pigeons make them self heard. In the distance can be heard the sound of rushing water. As this was a La Niña period there had been a lot of rain and the dam was over flowing.

Rocky Creek Dam - Dawn (05.12.21)

14th of June 2022.  Got out of bed at 1.44am, left for Ballinvally woods at 2.50am, arrived at 3.18am.               I was glad to finally get to test my new microphones as the weather had finally calmed down.  When I arrived I went straight into the area just up from the farmhouse and set up the Tascam and the old Rode NT1A and set the gain at 48db.  I hadn’t used the NT1A for a few years, but it still worked very well.  I only had a short loop lead between the mic and the recorder, so it didn’t take long to set up.  Then I walked for about seven minutes to where the gravel forestry road broadens out and comes to an end.  I was interested to see how the Warm Audio 84’s would handle birdsong.  They sounded thick and warm on the sound of the sea (Cardioid capsules).  I had the Omni capsules already on the 84’s, so having set up the gear I set the MixPre3 gain at 70db and got recording just in time for the beginning of the chorus.   It seems that with these mics it is best to have short microphone cables attached, so I had four metres between the mics and the recorder rather than my usual 30 meter spool of cable.                  I was in part of the woods I had only visited once, but had never recorded there before.  After setting up and the recording begun, a jet roared over after only about 8m30, thankfully after this no jets came over for at least an hour or so.  The weather was beautiful, quite mild, dry, and calm.   
Later during processing I saw a lot of 300Hz to 600Hz noise that slowly came on after awhile, it was only later during playing the recording that the low level noise could be heard, it seemed perfectly quiet at the time.    
Recordings were made in Ballinvally woods north-west of Arklow, County Wicklow, Ireland.  
Recording 3849.
One Rode NT1A and a Tascam Dr100Mk3.  (I used to have a pair of NT1A’s but one of them became faulty).

Dawn Chorus(8) - 14 June 22 - 5.35am - Ballinvally

Dawn chorus and morning storm recorded on the first morning of the International WELL Building Institute company retreat at the Hutton Brickyards in Kingston, NY (06/16/2022)
Recorded with Sony D100 and LOM Usi Pros
Tasting Notes:
> Dawn Chorus 
> Thunder 
> Squeaking Metal 
> Chatty Ravens 
> Rain Showers Increasing in Intensity

Hutton Brickyards Birdsong And Storm

George Moreton is a passionate ornithologist living in the Chiltern Hills. He travels the world to watch birds. In this episode of Radio Walks, George guides novice 'twitcher' Jonathan Kempster on a walk through the Gade River Valley. We learn the truth about the dawn chorus, and hear what's up and what's down in the bird league table. Garden feeding, modern farming, road transport, air travel, and human activity in general make every day a battle for our feathered friends, but George is dedicated to recording the changes and challenges in the life of birds.

If you know someone who can walk and talk at the same time, or if you'd like to be a guest on the programme, please get in touch via: jonathan.kempster@gmail.com

Produced by: Jonathan Kempster for Oral History Sound Recording & Storytelling, June 2022.

22 Jun 2022

The Life of Birds - interview with George Moreton (Radio Walks Podcast)

Sound recordist Colin Hunter 
Founder of the World Sounds project

Freelance photographer, filmer & sound recordist.

Yii Kah Hoe, Composer/improviser
https://www.youtube.com/c/ListeningtoNature

Oral Historian and Audio Journalist, Imperial War Museum Sound Archive, BBC Radio, Freelance. 
Member of Institute of Professional Sound, National Union of Journalists, Oral History Society, Subject Specialist Network (War & Conflict), International Association of Sound Archives.

A cabinetmaker by trade.  I have been recording birds for over 39 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, 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.

Some of these tracks are linked with naturesoundmap.com
another great site.  Enjoy.

New tracks tagged #Dawn Chorus