Viewing entries tagged
Wildlife

Welcomed Rain

The thinking at the start of this pandemic was, that nature would finally get the break that it deserves, with less air, water and noise pollution and some areas being left alone as people aren’t able to get to them to cause disturbance, such as upland ground breeding birds. Grass has been left to grow, so wild flowers have been given a chance to grow also, giving insects the boost they need. It hasn’t all been positive however, as during this lockdown we have seen a rise in ‘wild’ fires, caused by people of all ages but mostly children and young adults, wether on purpose or by accident and neglect of putting camping fires our disposable BBQ’s out properly. Disposal of fag ends also cause more wild fires than people realise, as in dry heat such as what we’ve been having for over a month now, all it takes is that little bit of help in the right habitat and it becomes a huge problem. For ground nesting birds, it’s a disaster. I monitor several Nightjar territories, many of which are currently black following fires. All the heather that was once present is gone, leaving charred sticks but thankfully, the bracken has still sprouted thru giving them a little bit of cover. This Male Nightjar is roosting on the only part of the branch that wasn’t burnt, which makes you wonder if it sat their whilst the fire burnt around him. It’s a sad thought when you think of all the animals, reptiles, insects and mammals that weren’t able to get away from the fire in time.

Nightjar Burnt Roost - SR1A4639 copy.jpg

Some Males have avoided ground roosting entirely and have taken to the tree’s instead. They are a little more vulnerable to predators in the tree’s so it’s not the best solution but at-least the canopy gives them a little shade in the heat of the day.

Nightjar Sunset Tight-SR1A3955 copy.jpg

This tree roosting Male put on a good performance after the sun dropped. Singing for so long my arm was ready to drop off holding the parabolic setup. I had hoped he would give a nice clapping performance at the end of this 5 minute bout but nope, he just stopped singing as he got distracted by a moth.

Once the female was up however he resumed to his short performances, ending each bout with a clapping bubbling displaying which is by far my favourite part of their song. If the female was happy with the performance they’ll mate either on a close perch or even on the ground.


As you’ll know by now I also have a fascination with mimicking birds and I’ve noted quite a lot of unique ones lately. The Song Thrush I hear on the gwent levels coastline usually have wader calls in their song, usually loud birds like Curlew, Oystercatcher or Whimbrel, and this is pretty standard across the levels, showing generations of local breeders that are faithful to at-least this sort of habitat on the coast.
In contrast to this, my semi-upland sites have been found to mimic anything from Nuthatch, Green Woodpeckers and to add to that list, Tawny Owl and Nightjar!
Here is a typical Tawny Owl ‘Kivvik’ call and below is a section of a Song Thrushes song, mimicking perfectly this Kivvik call.

The same bird moments later started mimicking a male Nightjar Call! Which would explain why it’s been so difficult to find them at dusk lately lol as it’s not just one Song Thrush doing this either, there’s three or four in that area that have the same phrases.


On the note of odd singers, I keep hearing this aberrant Willow Warbler song in the same area, which was the very bird that sparked a conversation about Iberian Chiffchaff. This bird has the start notes of a Willow Warbler, but the delivery expected of a Chiffchaff.

I’m still yet to get a pic of this bird but it does look to have pale legs so most certainly an aberrant Willow Warbler.


I’ll leave you with a closeup portrait of this Male Nightjar. Let’s hope the recent rain will prevent any further fires from causing anymore hinderance to their breeding season.

Weird and Wonderful

Photo

Breeding season is by far the busiest time of year for me. I wish my body could just run on nothing so that I could spend every second I could outdoors, but with nothing booked in today and a nice red ‘binocular strap’ sunburn on the back of my neck, I spend the day indoors to catch up on invoicing and general admin work. This also gives me the time to write this blog and catch you up on the weird and wonderful things I’ve been seeing on my surveys or in my garden. Caterpillars can be quite challenging to ID and I’ve photographed a few lately that remain un-identified. Usually the moths are the hardest as there are quite a few that are very similar looking, and there’s just so many of them!. I found my first Western Bee-fly which is a nationally scarce Bee-fly that appears to be quite numerous this year. I found another case of ‘Zombie Fungus’ which is a very strange phenomenon where a fly picks up spores on its skin, that burrow into their body to develop and once developed enough, will induce a chemical that takes over the flies brain! The fly then is possessed by the fungus, that causes it to climb a tall plant (called summiting), from which it is then forced to secrete a glue like substance from its mouth. Only then will the fungus kill the fly by locking up all its joints and limbs, so the wings point to the sky and their legs lock onto the stem. It’s at this stage that the fungus can use all of the flies nutrients, growing out from the body and releasing spores into the air, ready for the cycle to start all over again. It’s literally the thing of nightmares! The Bagworm Moth Larvae was also a good reminder of natures architectural genius, as the larvae uses sticks or reeds of a certain quality to build a safe home that’s completely unappealing to any predator looking to eat them. Some of the shapes they build, truly are incredible. Take a look here for some examples on google.


It’s been a whole year since I found my first roosting Nightjar. It was a special moment after many years of research, as yomping around breeding habitat with no experience is just out of the question. If you think you can just rock up and expect to find one roosting in the day, you’ll go home very disappointed. There’s a reason why these birds are so successful. If you flush one in an attempt to find one, you WILL NOT see them again, as they won’t roost there again. Everybody I’ve met who study Nightjar, do so because they have the utmost enthusiasm and passion for the species and it’s safe to say, I’m in it for life. On that note, below is that very first Nightjar I found in may 2019, which happened to be a female who favoured tree stumps. The females are taking a while to come back this year, but it was even more special that my first Nightjar of 2020 was that exact same female, using her favourite tree stumps again. The more you learn about these birds, the more you realise that they are just individuals, with their individual preferences in life, just like us.

As she had just turned up the night before, she’s already being pestered by the local Males and this isn’t the same Male she paired up with last year, but he was roosting 2 meters away from her, just so he knows where she is once it gets dark enough, so they can continue ‘business’. I hope they have a good year this year, for some reason many females are yet to return, so the Males are a bit lost at present.

Male Nightjar

Sound

Back to sound! (Here’s where most people bow out). Recording mammals can be quite difficult as they’re not always vocal. I’ve had numerous encounters with Weasels for instance and till today I’ve never heard one before! I presume it has a nest somewhere. I couldn’t even see the blighter but this sound was unmistakable.

The same night I had an encounter with two Tawny Owls, that were making all sorts of weird sounds, but recorded here at the typical Kivvik sounds. You may even have one near you? With this hot weather, now’s a good time to listen in bed with the window wide open.

I’ve also added another birdsong to my video list. The Chaffinch is Britain’s most common finch, but till now I’ve not really appreciated it enough. I’m sure their success has everything todo with that powerful bill, which is very versatile in what it can achieve. Their song might be repetitive but listen with a good pair of headphones and the tone is just stunning. It has a well-rounded tone but with really crisp articulation. That and it’s very loud!


Nocmig

Not much to report on the nocturnal migration recordings but I did get a wave of flycatcher like calls that I need to ID. They must be Spotted Flycatchers this time of year but I don’t think the recordings are detailed enough to rule out Pied Flycatcher.


And finally, something to laugh about. I had lots of messages last night, congratulating me on getting one of my images onto the Springwatch program lol. Which was news to me, as I can’t ever remember being asked for permission to use any of my images, so I was a little angry at first.. but then I found out it was Iolo Williams that presented it, so I’ll let him off beings he’s Welsh, and of course, I remembered I added the picture to Springwatches Flickr group, which does state they’re allowed to use any images added to the group for the program, so long as they credit the photographer, which they did. It’s a shame now though everybody thinks there’s a bird called Gavin Vella!! Could have been a worse bird though lets be fair :)

Screenshot 2020-05-29 at 19.33.28.png

Here’s the original image for you to enjoy :) Taken under license in 2019.

Where do I start!

I hope you’re all still hanging on in there. I do feel we’re slowly starting to come out the other end of this pandemic (for now). It certainly feels that way with way more cars on the road with people finding ways of getting back to work. I know it’s tough staying indoors, especially in this beautiful weather. I’m very lucky to have local access to so much wildlife and to be able to still do my surveying jobs around the Gwent Levels and a few semi-upland sites. As you know I’m self-employed and this as my full-time Job. It was tough to get where I am now and it’s times like this that make it all the worth-while. If like me; you require time outdoors with nature, for the sake of your mental health, maybe this experience will make you consider pursuing the Job you’ve always wanted? I’m a firm believer that there’s always some good that comes from bad experiences but we do need to exploit every opportunity we get. Maybe this is it?
Either way, If you can’t get out, I hope in sharing my outdoor experiences with you, it can somewhat transport you as if you were right there with me when it all happened. Pictures help, but I believe sound alone is the best way to do this, which is why I’ve done plenty of sound recording this year.

Here are some pre-dawn surveys this week on the Gwent Levels. The winds have changed to southerly in the last couple days so we’ve been seeing either mist or rain throughout the night as weather systems change.

The sound of the waves this morning was therapeutic and I can see why so many people are drawn to the ocean when the weather is nice. It’s not just about the beach, there’s a reason why people come from the beach feeling enriched. The sound of water does magical things to us, as does birdsong.


Sound

For those who haven’t heard a cuckoo, now’s your time. If you’re within walking distance to upland sites or the gwent levels, you might just catch a few at dawn or dusk. If you don’t have access, here’s my best recording yet of this male who specialises in lowland species, so probably looking for Dunnocks or Reed Warbler nests for the female to lay her egg in.

Another iconic sound of the lowland and a sound that can be heard over two miles away, is this incredible bellowing Bittern. I actually picked this bird up during a survey which I’m sure was more than two miles away but with the right wind conditions and the aid of my parabolic dish, I was able to hear it on the wind. The problem is the closer you get with a parabola, the less you seem to hear of a bittern as the dish itself only amplifies soundwaves than are smaller than it’s circumference, so low frequencies won’t be amplified. For this recording, I had to use a shotgun mic and some clever trickery in post edit to amplify the sound.


I’ve added some more birds to my sound-video list, two you’ll encounter quite a lot in and around your home. Wren and Dunnock have mastered all types of habitat, lowland or upland. A less common species though and an under-recorded species is this Lesser Whitethroat. Under-recorded as they are rarely seen due to their hedgerow antics, but also perhaps because people aren’t familiar with their song? If so, take a listen. That iconic sound at the end of each phrase is called ‘rattling’ and there isn’t really any other species I can think of that rattlings quite like this.

Another two lowland reed and hedge specialist in the form of a Cetti’s Warbler and Reed Bunting.

I appreciate there’s a lot of media here! I don’t expect you to listen to all of these files. It’s like 6 blogs all packed into one and I wish I could spend more time talking about each one as there’s some truly magical moments here. I recorded my first Roding Woodcock, a real close encounter with a Tawny Owl on a night that was so quiet, you could hear burrowing insects in the trees and the sound of bat wings. (Future blog about those insects).


Garden List

I’ve added a few more species to my Garden list but I’ve also included some I’ve found on the gwent levels during surveys. I’ve added yet another species of Bee to my garden list in the form of a Megachile Sp which is a type of Leaf-cutter Bee. I’ve now also got plenty of Speckled Bush-crickets roaming around so that female I found last year clearly laid eggs in my fence panel. (they like dead wood). I can’t ever recall seeing a 24-spot ladybird before so this was a nice addition for me.


Nocmig

Wow, what a headache Nocmig has been at times! So much to learn, it’s actually fueled my passion for sound even more but also brings out my love for bio-acoustics, as half of these calls can’t be identified by ear alone, they need to be analysed for the length of the call, pitch, and modulations etc. I don’t even have the software to do this properly but luckily there are specialists out who do know these sounds and between me and Craig Constance, we’re bouncing off each other quite well so far… Even still we’ve both still got things wrong on occasion but that’s all part of Nocmig, you have to accept that there will be things you get wrong, or sounds you cannot identify. It’s all part of the mystery of the game which is why it’s so fascinating.

I’ve even got a few probables that I’m not quite sure with. Turnstone is distant but spectrograph looks pretty good for Turnstone. I’ve had multiple Spot-Fly type calls but I’m not confident at separating them for Pied Flycatcher yet but I should be able todo so with these alls as they were pretty clear. I just want somebody with more experience than I to confirm for me. The Sound Approach does have a good write-up on these species but I don’t have to software yet to measure length of calls.


The Sound Continues

I’ve added some more birdsongs to my youtube collection. I’m hoping that once I’ve accumulated enough, they can become a reference for people to use to help ID species in the field. Learning birdsong is quite difficult for people who don’t know where to start. By far the best way to learn is to listen, a lot. So it helps to know what you’re listening to prior to going into the field. Take this Whitethroat, for instance, in this recording, you’ll hear their call at the start, their short and sharp song, followed by their longer sub-song which is also used during their flight display. It’s good to familiarise yourself with birds sub-song too as it’s usually these type of vocalisations that people can get caught up on, as they all share similar characteristics between species. A sub-song is often a longer, more complicated song, which could include mimicry in this species also. This is why it’s important to take your time and listen to multiple phrases before drawing any conclusions but if you’re unsure, record multiple phrases on your phone and if you can’t find out what it is yourself, feel free to ask me or somebody else for help.

I’ll do another blog on the Reed Warbler in comparison to a Sedge Warbler as this is another species that people get confused between. The differences are actually quite spectacular once you know what to look out for but for now, familiarise yourself with the slow pace of the Reed Warbler. It might be a complicated song, but it is structured.

Another song that you perhaps won’t hear so much now as they tend to sing early spring. It’s a delicate song, and just like their stone-like call, can easily be missed on a windy day on the moors.

One you won’t mistake in the woods is this iconic sound of a Wood Warbler. It’s described to sound like a penny dropping onto a marble floor, as it a very metallic sound that increases in speed and loudness towards the end.



Nocmig Update

So much to share from the last two days alone, with Common Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Whimbrel, Dunlin and last night my first Spotted Flycatcher.


I appreciate there’s a lot of content here to look thru but you have to listen to this one. It was a special moment recording a Cuckoo at work that literally sang for 30+ Minutes. No females just yet on this patch but two males either end of the woods.

I know we’re still struggling to get thru this lockdown and are eager for things to go back to ‘normality’ but I really do hope that we change our ways before jumping straight back into the fire. The lack of air traffic has had a massive impact on my mental health. My recordings are the best they’ve ever been due to this one fact alone and I’m positive that this period has had a hugely positive effect on our wildlife. I hope that more and more people realise the value of working from home and I hope companies will start to trust their employee’s todo so. Yes, it’s important to have social contact with people, but I do feel that much of this contact is unnecessary at a time where global emissions are at breaking point. Just look at our wonderful verges full of wildflowers and the increase of insects this year alone due to less traffic on the road. We have such an impact on the planet, but this as proven to me that we CAN make big differences with simple life changes.

April Summary

2020 is looking to be a year to remember for sure! I know for many this has been nothing but stressful time and it’s looking to continue that way for a while longer. I do hope that you are finding some positives in this situation. Spending more time with the family may be a good thing, sorting out the home, garden or just generally getting the rest that you deserved? Well if not, please take it!
For those that have followed my blog, it’s been a rough experience so far but I’m now back into work. During the lockdown I focused on recording wildlife in the garden, mainly bugs and bees. I’ve created a bug hotel with my partner and planted wildflowers ready for summer. I’ve also started recording nocturnal migration which has been really successful! I haven’t tallied up my total species count yet but it’s increasing daily.

Going self-employed was a tough decision for me at the time, and very risky! so risky that there was a period where I was really struggling and if it weren’t for help in the family I wouldn’t have got thru it, but I’m out the other end and it’s times like this that’s really made me thankful that I did, as I’ve been able to continue working, and that work is outdoors which is vitally important for my mental health.


Last week I started sharing videos of my sound recordings, as I found that Youtube is slightly better for sharing content on social media platforms, as they don’t need to leave Facebook in order to listen. Here’s some more to add to the growing collection. Firstly is this Firecrest which is a new territory for me and surprise surprise, the bird was mimicking Goldcrest in a reduced manner. You can hear a couple of these mimic phrases at the start of the recording.

Willow Warbler and Tree Pipit are two species I’ve been hearing a lot of this week as they return from Africa and with these two extra species alone the dawn chorus sounds so much bigger than before. So big that I’ve also included a recording of the dawn chorus, which is still with my parabolic dish, but something I hope to do a lot more of in the future for In Our Nature CIC as it can be quite therapeutic to listen to.


My Nocmig continues to pull up some fantastic birds! especially between the 24-26 where I had Common Sandpiper, Water Rail, Arctic Tern, Dunlin, Oystercatcher a Heron and what I presume is a Raven? at 12pm. Would appreciate any opinions on that one though as I didn’t think Ravens would be flying so late.


I’ve been getting a lot of questions about this Nocmig recording, so I’ve revamped my sound recording page, with an additional page at the bottom, devoted to nocmig. Hopefully after a few months more experience I’ll be able to make it a resource of recordings for others to use as identification, as there isn’t a heap of resources online for nocturnal calls: Partly because there is very little known about them! You can either start at the top of my sound recording page and work down ( should keep you occupied for a while) or you can skip to the bottom and click the Nocmig button. There isn't much there yet, just a little about my setup, but that will develop as time goes on. I hope it’s useful.


I’ll leave you with a photo of a common species of Drone-fly (Misumena vatia), males of which are lining up to impress a female. This is common behaviour and distinct to this species and sometimes you can get a dozen lining up doing the same thing. Can you spot the predator in the scene also?

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Getting Organised

Getting Organised

If there’s one good thing that has come out of this horrific time, it’s finding the time to get organised. Time is so precious, I wonder if this experience will change perspectives of how people spend their time. I hope that people will have more appreciation for nature now they’re experiencing clearer skies, less noise and air pollution and generally appreciate the freedom we once had to roam as we please.

On the days I’ve spent working from home I’ve taken the opportunity to rethink the way I portray my work. I usually share my sound recordings with Soundcloud links, but the issue with Soundcloud, it’s not social media friendly, so people have to leave facebook or twitter in order to listen to the file, which I don’t like. So I’ve started putting together short videos, simply with a photo of the subject or scene and a little audiovisual to give it some movement. I know video’s, in general, are more interactive but I can’t do both at the same time, unfortunately. So here’s three videos to start off with, some recent and some old. All photographs are my own, I hope you enjoy them.

What's your Soundtrack?

I can’t imagine when the last time the earth experienced such a mass global silence before. It’s a sound recordists dream! but also a total nightmare all at the same time, as we’re unable to get out and enjoy this beautiful ambience. That said, I hope that the millions of people finding themselves in isolation are noticing the silence around their homes, gardens or during their daily walk. Silence is a powerful healer as we give our ears time to rest and reset. We’ve tried to mitigate the sounds of the city by designing noise-cancelling headphones, but the issue with that is, you replace the silence with something that’s usually just as loud, and potentially damaging to our ears. Chose your soundtrack wisely. If I had the choice between spending the morning listening to my favourite songs or to listen to a dawn chorus, I’d pick the dawn chorus every time.

On that note, If you have headphones, please put them on and listen to this beautiful display I recorded at work. You’ll hear several species in the background, from Snipe, Teal, Swans, Water Rail, Little Owl and throughout the recording are Bat’s overhead. Most people won’t be able to hear the Bats so I’ve lowered the pitched in another recording so you can hear what they sound like. This recording is one of the most memorable moments of my life. This location is usually washed with the sounds of road/air traffic noise, so you very rarely get to hear the acoustics of the land.

Over the top of this same moment was plenty of Pipistrelles enjoying the warm night and what you’re mostly hearing in the recording below is their social call. My microphone cannot capture full spectrum but I’m looking into ways that I can record the sounds of bats as they do make some incredible sounds that most people would not have experienced before.

The recording below only exists thanks to the ‘pre-record’ function on my Mixpre 6 ii. The function allows you to record a few seconds before you actually press the record button, which means it’s always recording and just keeps those seconds prior to you pressing the button. It’s not something I rely upon as I’m often walking so it usually just captures me fumbling around trying to get the subject in focus, but in this case, it did help me document my first ever drumming Snipe. You wouldn’t believe this sound was created by their outer tail feathers and not their mouth.


Everyone is experiencing this lockdown differently and my thoughts go out to those who have very little at this time to enjoy, or are having to isolate themselves in an abusive home. Remember that in the event of social abuse you ARE aloud to leave your home and if you believe you are a victim, please call the police and seek advice. Your home should be a safe place, not a prison sentence.


My street is about as diverse as a chemical plant and as the council have closed the canal, (rightly so) I’m not able to get out and have my nature fix. If you read my last blog you’ll see I’ve found a way of getting my fix and I can’t believe I’ve never done this before! Last week I had Curlew, Oystercatchers, Water Rail, Moorhen and since then I’ve managed to get my first Common Scoter Flock!

Inland records are always important to record as they would otherwise spend their lives at sea, so to get one over the house in Sebastopol is a big deal. I have recorded them at Llandegfedd Reservoir, usually after a bad storm where the sea gets a little too rough but they can be recorded inland on lakes during migration.
Learn more here - https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/common-scoter/

Common Scoter

Common Scoter


I’ll leave you with the sound of early spring, the only recording I could get prior to lockdown of spring arrivals.

Chiffchaff

Spring Warmth

Everybody has their own cue’s for spring, something they look out for each year, whether it’s the first arriving Swallows, the sound of the dawn chorus, the smell of wild Garlic, or a pond full of Frogspawn. I haven’t got any specific thing I love seeing the most as I love it all! but if I had to choose, it has to be the singing birds. I get so much joy listening to birdsong, whether it’s the complex song of the Skylark on the hills or the repetitive song of a Dunnock in the Garden. With heat, comes energy, and that energy is contagious, so lap every moment up.

One sign for sure is emerging Reptiles and this week I found my first Adder in a known hotspot. I’m tasking myself to find more local ones this year as I’ve walked for miles in pristine habitat on my local moorland and I’m still yet to find one.

In the same spot as the Adder were 7 Common Lizard, all basking in the warm sun. Hard to believe that same day started with ground frost and snow forecast! March has become a very unpredictable month which has the potential to make or break it for some species that time things wrongly.

Adding to the Bird song list is this Chaffinch on a rather windy day and a beautiful Dunnock which continued to sing in the tree I just parked my car under, even after making a racket shutting doors and getting all my recording gear out of the boot. It’s a nice feeling when wildlife choses to trust you, or most likely pretending you don’t exist lol.

Below is one of my favourite recordings to date on what ended up being a beautiful walk in the Forest of Dean. A pair of Ravens were building a couple of nests, probably undecided on where to settle, but the morning mist was condensing on the trees, creating a background of crisp water drops falling on dead leaves. My recording doesn’t do it justice really but if you listen with a good pair of headphones you will hear it. One thing I couldn’t help but hear also though is the passing planes!! There literally is no escaping the sound of man anymore.

Take a look at this time-lapse video of all the plane activity in Europe. It’s getting ridiculous! A total money pit and all at the expense of the earth. It’s important we find areas to escape man made sounds and I highly recommend finding an area to escape this constant drone. The Canyon in Pantegaseg can be a great place to escape plane noise, but it’s also a hotspot for off-road vehicles on the weekends, so pick your times carefully. The best way to get away from these sounds are to find natural sounds that drown it out, this is why we’re drawn to the sounds of streams and rivers.

Spring has already arrived!

Frankly, signs of spring are long behind us. Spring is here! Insects that usually hatch in April and May are already on the wing and plenty of leaves and flowers are spouting in what ended up being a very mild day today. I haven’t ventured to any ponds yet but I’m sure frogs are spawning all over the country already and that for me, is the beginning of spring. Below’s selection of ferns, mosses and lichens came from a single spot in Llanover which I return to regularly throughout the year as it’s a beautiful place to lose one’s thoughts.
Plenty of spring hatching Caddisfly Larvae and Stoneflies on the wing which I’m sure the bird population are already making the most of. Below you’ll notice a Hart’s-tongue Fern that splits into two! I’ve never seen this before but despite it not being common, it has been noted by other naturalists. Some have called it a ‘Forked Hart’s-tongue Fern or a Split Crested Hart’s Tongue Fern. Whatever this is called, it looks cool!!
I have some other mosses and lichens that I need to look. I could do with a better book! Nice to see some flowers blooming in the form of Snow Drops, Wild Crocus’ and Red Campions.


My last blog was all about sound recording and I know many people don’t like to listen to things without some visual stimulant. We need to learn how to shut our eyes though, so feel free to put your headphones on and close your eyes on this one, it’s only an iPhone video to set the atmosphere.

Sound Recording

For months now I’ve been testing new gear in order to get the best results I can for a year of many plans with sound recording. Sound for me is so much more important than photographs. Anybody can browse the internet and see amazing images of wildlife and nature, but how often do we put good quality headphones on and just listen to the sounds of nature? It can be really helpful if you suffer from mental health issues and can’t find the time to get outdoors. I know it’s invaluable to me to be able to close my eyes and just listen to something that will actually enrich my life. Many people use Music in this way, as a distraction, but Music, especially modern music, can actually damage your ears if you listen loudly for extended periods of time.
Being a musician myself, I’ve been subjected to loud music most of my life, drumming at hundreds of gigs without ear protection. Thankfully, so far I’ve only noticed a slight decrease above 16khz, mostly in my right ear, but generally, I’ve been very lucky to still have very good hearing. The lesson here, please look after your ears. Losing your hearing isn’t what you would expect, especially if you form tinnitus where you’ll never truly be able to appreciate silence anymore without some permanent noise in your ears. Getting good quality headphones really helps as you don’t have to turn the volume up loud in order to experience a nice full-bodied sound. They are expensive, but I recommend the Bose Quiet comforts 35 Series 2 for extended periods of listening. As the name suggests, they are both comfortable to wear, but also comfortable to listen to as the high frequencies are soft and the low frequencies controlled, unlike most of the headphones on the market these days that have been tuned to punch out the bass for modern music. They might make it sound like you’re at the club, but that isn’t good for your ears.

Two new items of gear, one in the form of a Sound Devices Mixpre 6 ii, which is Sound Devices entry-level sound mixer that so far I’m really enjoying, despite having MANY learning curves regarding setup. I would not recommend this gear unless you have some pre-knowledge of sound recording. Along with the recorder, I also upgraded my Telinga Stereo Mk 2, to the Stereo Mk 3, and now I’ve figured out how to make the most out of my recorder, I’m finally starting to see some results I’m very pleased with. Below are a few recordings from this month. Despite being January, the mild weather has sprung many birds into spring mode: Even some winter visitors like Redwing have been singing, which is really nice as that is something we would not usually get.

Velvet Shank

The season is certainly mixed, with lots of winter fungi to explore. This is a Velvet Shank, so named because it has.. a velvet shank? lol. As I said though, I’ve not taken the camera out of the bag for a while as I’m finding sound can paint a much bigger picture.

Take this recording below. I just about pressed record in enough time to capture a daytime Tawny Owl, who wasn’t too happy with a pair of Ravens perching in the same tree, but if you listen carefully to the smaller birds in the background, and you can hear a Hawfinch calling throughout. I couldn’t actually see this bird at the time, but thanks to the sound recording I was able to share this bird with you.

Lastly I’ll leave you with this recording below of a double stream accompanied by two male Great Tit’s having a pre-spring song battle. You’ll also hear a pair of Buzzards that were pair bonding.