Lift off! This was spectacular beyond what I could have imagined. The starling murmuration at the Avalon Marshes in Somerset. Hundreds of thousands of birds departing from their roost on the reed beds. The numbers are hard to comprehend. First the silence - a timid chorus at this time of year - then the starlings start to chatter. Suddenly there is a build up of rumbling bass, like wind hitting the microphone or something about to erupt. Then the waves across the field, like ocean waves in the distance, both visually and sonically. And the lift off. The rumble becomes a satisfying silky carpet enveloping you overhead.

This repeats 3-4 times as different waves of departing starlings take flight. MAGICAL.

I edited 30 seconds at the end from when they've all left, to give perspective, so you can appreciate the decibels such a gathering produces.

Location: Shadwick Heath, Somerset, UK
Date and time: 25 February 2024, 7am
Habitat: Reed beds, Flooded plains

Gear (Associate Links):
Sound Devices 744T
Sennheiser MKH8060 and MKH30 in Mid-Side rig.
Nikon Z6-II https://amzn.to/4aWjeyZ
Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM https://amzn.to/4bmU24t
Sigma 70-200 F2.8 https://amzn.to/3Wpdrxu

Starling Murmuration Dawn Lift-Off

This is a sneak peek of my first recording of an active volcano, the Erta Ale in Ethiopia.
This take is completly raw, I've just done a quick edit from 1 hour of material.
It was probably my best field recording experience so far, and I'm very happy to share it with you.

These sounds will be part of my next sound library, "Ethiopia"
Enjoy!

Volcano Erta Ale preview

KEY FEATURES:
• The sound of ancient Kazakh nomads in China, will be lost. • herds, horses and sheeps surrounded my mic
• The Naren river, massive valley and pinewoods
• 50 tracks of 5.0 version, 19.5GB
• 54 track of stereo, 8.1GB
• 96kHz, 24bit recording and post-production

Sound Of Nomdas Demo

Yang Jie

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