Wild Bird Acoustics

Alan Dalton

A journey into the wonderful world of field recording birds in their natural environment. Join me at Wild bird Acoustic's to experience incredible soundscapes of wild birds, here in Sweden and further abroad. The podcast will feature sound magazines, trips to wild places and interviews with sound recorders from all around Europe and beyond. Carefully selected audio from the field will inform and educate birders who wish to learn more about bird vocalizations. Going forward, I hope to draw together a community of field recorders, birders and outdoor enthusiasts, to share the sounds of wild birds and places from all over the world.... I hope it will appeal to those who seek a relaxing audio experience, contribute to mental well being and provide an outlet for listener's who seek to escape the stress that modern life can generate. 

  1. Autumn Leaves; Soundscapes from the Far North

    AUG 16

    Autumn Leaves; Soundscapes from the Far North

    Autumn is almost upon us, which means one thing for many active birders, fall migration. For all birders, Autumn is perhaps the most highly anticipated time of year. Migration takes place on an epic scale over the fall months and there is much to enjoy in the field. For many, it is the spectacle of migration itself, that fires the senses. For others, it is the hopes or rarities, vagrant bird that have been swept far from where they ought to be, only to be found on a far flung headland by a lucker observer. For me, it is the rich soundscape overhead, the calls that fill our skies, as passage migrants flood southwards. In this episode, I wanted to delve into some of the wonderful sounds of the Swedish Autumn. I begin with a small audio magazine on the vocalizations of two supremely evolved specialists of Swedish coniferous woodland, Red Crossbill and Parrot Crossbill. These highly adapted, far wandering finches move widely over large areas. Furthermore, they are resilient birds, hardy late Winter breeders and are exceptionally interesting from a sound recording standpoint..  The main course, so to speak, will be an extensive sound magazine, with all audio recorded over the course of September 2024.  I spent ten days on this tiny island of Hällögern, along the Baltic coastline of Västerbotten, in Northern Sweden. During this time, I was free to spend all of my time field recording the sounds of Autumn migration at the site, in a wonderfully noise free and pristine environment. For me, it simply doesn't get any better than this.  Using the audio I recorded during the trip, I will share the wonderful sounds and ambience of this little island, which lies just a hundred metres offshore. This represents an audio snapshot of a wonderful location... Leave a comment here.... Support the show Subscibe to Wild Bird Acoustics here; https://wildbirdacoustics.buzzsprout.com Lots more audio related material here at my long running website; https://blogbirder.blogspot.com/

    1h 4m
  2. The Fruits of 2024; The Sound Identification of migrating Buntings

    JUL 16

    The Fruits of 2024; The Sound Identification of migrating Buntings

    Another audio packed episode at Wild Bird Acoustics! I begin with a magazine entitled 'The Fruits of 2024', a random collection of field recordings, all of which were taken over the course of Spring 2024. I had a wonderful time visiting different locations at that time, simply recording the wonderful soundscapes I came across whilst out in the field. As I often do, I simply wandered around various locations, letting the sounds of singing birds define what I recorded next, at times, simply moving from one songster to the next...  Following this rather random sound magazine, a more planned and researched piece which I have put together carefully over the past year. This extensive sound magazine concerns the sound identification of migrating Buntings. Buntings are widespread Autumnal migrants and they remain one of my favourite species groups. As you will know by now, I am extremely drawn to migrating passerines and there is nothing I enjoy more than being out at dawn, monitoring fall migrants as they move southwards. Visible migration can be challenging and there is much to learn. Often, as large numbers of migrants can be high overhead  on mornings such as this, an extensive knowledge of vocalizations and calls is the key to unlocking the secrets of migration. This sound guide to Buntings has been formulating in the recesses of my mind for a few years now. It has taken me many years to collect enough audio to finally tackle this project, featuring one of my favourite groups of passerine species. The audio here has been gleaned from many early morning sessions. Establishing two listening stations here in Sweden has proved the key to unlocking this particular box, allowing me to accumulate a large amount of reference material to work with and share. I really hope this can help encourage others to get out into the field and enjoy the incredible spectacle that is bird migration. Buntings are a fascinating group of species and several species are recorded on passage here in Sweden. Here, I take a deep dive into the calls of a number of species that occur here and discuss each in turn.... Leave a comment here.... Support the show Subscibe to Wild Bird Acoustics here; https://wildbirdacoustics.buzzsprout.com Lots more audio related material here at my long running website; https://blogbirder.blogspot.com/

    57 min
  3. The Hällögern Diaries; The Best of 2024

    JUL 1

    The Hällögern Diaries; The Best of 2024

    Over the course of 2024, I spent several weeks at coastal Västerbotten, field recording birds on the tiny island of Hällögern. During the summer months, this was often a rather relaxed affair and I frequently left microphones in the field for long periods. often in areas where I knew certain species frequented. As the island is wonderfully quiet in the summer at night, long soundscapes were often my focus, but within these long recordings there were many wonderful moments. I wanted to share some of that audio in this episode.    At this same location, as summer moves into autumn, many migrant bird species begin to funnel southwards along the Swedish coastline. This stream of migration is something that I am always drawn towards and there is nothing better for me than standing out at  a coastal site in fall as the sun rises. Birds begin to move overhead from first light and soon after dawn, on a good morning, the skies are filled with the contact calls of many migratory species as they move overhead. There are many locations to witness this spectacle, but the far north holds a special place in my heart to witness this. Along the coast of Västerbotten, the silence is only broken by the sounds of migrant birds, making it the perfect site for the field recorder to monitor and record migrant birds. In this main sound magazine, I share some wonderful audio highlights from 2024 from my favourite part of Sweden. Think of it as an audio diary of sorts... I will wind down with a relaxing soundscape from the same part of the world, recorded earlier in the year, at a time when the sun barely drops below the horizon. Recording under the midnight sun is the best time to record the incredibly peaceful sounds of Arctic Terns, as they forage in still conditions. Leave a comment here.... Support the show Subscibe to Wild Bird Acoustics here; https://wildbirdacoustics.buzzsprout.com Lots more audio related material here at my long running website; https://blogbirder.blogspot.com/

    57 min
5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

A journey into the wonderful world of field recording birds in their natural environment. Join me at Wild bird Acoustic's to experience incredible soundscapes of wild birds, here in Sweden and further abroad. The podcast will feature sound magazines, trips to wild places and interviews with sound recorders from all around Europe and beyond. Carefully selected audio from the field will inform and educate birders who wish to learn more about bird vocalizations. Going forward, I hope to draw together a community of field recorders, birders and outdoor enthusiasts, to share the sounds of wild birds and places from all over the world.... I hope it will appeal to those who seek a relaxing audio experience, contribute to mental well being and provide an outlet for listener's who seek to escape the stress that modern life can generate.