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. I hope it will appeal to those who seek a relaxing audio experience, which can help contribute to mental well being and provide an outlet for those who might wish to escape the stress that modern life can generate. I further hope to draw together a community of field recorders, birders and outdoor enthusiasts, in order to share the sounds of wild birds and places from all over the world....
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Top 10 Wild Bird Acoustics Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Wild Bird Acoustics episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Wild Bird Acoustics for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Wild Bird Acoustics episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Late Spring at Sandemar Reserve;
Wild Bird Acoustics
05/16/24 • 64 min
In this episode of Wild Bird Acoustics, I will take listeners on an audio journey into Sweden's birdlife. The initial site for this episode is the Sandemar Reserve, located southeast of Stockholm city which is noted for its diverse range of bird species. Sit back and listen to the sounds of this wonderful venue, as I share captured sounds of various species including the Common Rosefinch, Marsh Warbler, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Common Redshank, Common Snipe, and Northern Lapwing among others. Although road noise poses a minor distraction, it is generally manageable and doesn't diminish the overall field recording experience.
A second sound magazine, comprising more recent audio from 2023, will further immerse the listener in the wonderful late Spring soundscape here in Sweden, a time when the countryside is, quite simply, alive with birds.
The episode concludes with an encouraging note to listeners to engage more with birds in the field and I hope this may encourage a few listeners to consider possibly taking up field recording as a hobby.
00:00 Introduction to Wild Bird Acoustics
00:49 Exploring Sandemar Reserve in Sweden
02:36 Recording Techniques and Challenges
03:40 First Sound Magazine: Field Recording at Sandemar Reserve
24:25 Reflections on Podcasting and Sound Recording
25:02 Second Sound Magazine: Late Spring in Sweden
26:04 Future Plans and Challenges for Wild Bird Acoustics
01:02:51 Conclusion and call to action.
Golden Brown; The Sounds of Autumn
Wild Bird Acoustics
08/16/24 • 53 min
In this episode of Wild Bird Acoustics, I focus on the sounds on Autumn. In the initial sound magazine, I will take listener's to the coast of Västerbotten in Northern Sweden. I will share a collection of field recordings of local species, as well as passage migrants, revealing a cross section of the incredible sounds to be expected in this incredible part of the world, during the busiest period for migration of many species of bird.
The second sound magaizine will feature visible migration and the calls of migrant species as they move southwards along the coastline at Landsort, Sweden. This premier site for active migration has provided me with some wonderful audio of migrant species over the past few years and here, in the penultimate episode of my first podcast season, I take a deep dive into the sounds of those species. This is a celebration of the autumn period and I hope it will whet listeners appetite for the coming autumn, wherever your location...
The Quest for Black Gold
Wild Bird Acoustics
01/16/25 • 64 min
In this episode, in the first instance, I take a closer look at the vocalisation of two common migrant species here in Sweden over the Autumn period, Eurasian Siskin and Common Redpoll. Both these widespread European species are common migrants and an understanding of the calls given by both, whilst actively migrating, is fundamental to any birder with an interest in observing migrating passerines in the fall period.
Following this, the main sound magazine in this episode, concerns itself with one of the most iconic species of mature Swedish woodland. I have made extensive efforts to record Black Woodpecker over the years and this sound magazine documents my efforts to do so. Join me an a wonderful acoustic journey, through the sprawling woodlands of wild Sweden...
The Quest for Common Pochard
Wild Bird Acoustics
03/01/24 • 54 min
In this, the seventh episode of Wild Bird Acoustics, we follow my quest to record an elusive duck species, Common Pochard. My eventual aim was to field record the species remarkable courtship display, you can follow that journey in the first section of this podcast. Apart from discussing the challenges of locating and recording this elusive species, I share several other bird recordings captured during these outings, such as the amazing calls of Northern Goshawk, a displaying Little Grebe, singing Goldcrest, and Eurasian Jay mimicking other species' calls.
Following this initial section, I will take you to the Stockholm Archipelago in late autumn, on a rather special day in November, when all the stars aligned and I managed some wonderful audio of some rather special Swedish bird species....
00:20 Introduction to Wild Bird Acoustics
00:35 The Quest for Common Pochard
01:22 The Challenges of locating breeding Common Pochard
03:40 The final piece of the Jigsaw; Common Pochard's Courtship Display
04:55 Another Journey to Norra Djurgarden
05:06 The Encounter with Common Pochard
06:40 Other Encounters: Coot and Little Grebe
08:43 The Successful Recording of Common Pochard
23:04 A Surprise Encounter with Northern Goshawk
31:16 The Final Recordings and Reflections
32:20 Preview of the Next Episode: Autumn in Landsort
33:20 The Field Magazine: A Day in Landsort
33:40 The Search for Spotted Nutcracker
34:24 Encounters with Bohemian Waxwing and Northern Bullfinch
47:26 Success! An audio recording of Spotted Nutcracker...
53:08 Conclusion and Call to Action
Early Summer in Sweden; Binaural Recording in Västerbotten
Wild Bird Acoustics
07/16/24 • 76 min
Episode 17 of Wild Bird Acoustics see's me take listeners deep into the world of early Summer soundscapes of Sweden, comprising audio recorded in June 2022. The episode delves into carefully selected audio recorded at various locations, including Stockholm City, Snosätra, Angarn Reserve, Vallentuna, Sandemar Reserve, Landsort, Nacka Reserve, and Hällögern in Northern Sweden. I discuss bird species such as Blyth's Reed Warbler, Collared Flycatcher, Corn Crake, Great Reed Warbler, Icterine Warbler, European Nightjar, and Marsh Warbler. I also share thoughts about the equipment used for field recording, and encourage listeners to venture out at night, in order to field record night singing species. Toward the end, I introduce some fantastic binaural recordings from Halligan in Västerbotten, which I hope will be a fully immersive audio experience for listeners, with some wonderful surround sound recordings shared in the second sound magazine of the episode.
00:00 Introduction to Wild Bird Acoustics
00:38 Summer Recording experiences in 2022
02:23 Exploring the Sounds of Summer in Sweden
02:41 Mimicry; Blyth's Reed Warbler
09:23 Collared Flycatcher
12:34 Corn Crake
16:00 Great Reed Warbler
20:37 A Master Singer; Icterine Warbler
29:08 A nocturnal Nightjar Experience
35:41 Marsh Warbler at Hagby Eco Park
42:45 Binaural Recording at Hallegern
45:12 The immersive sounds of Hallegern in July
01:00:33 Hobby
01:02:18 Little Gull
01:09:39 Spotted Redshank
01:11:43 Tufted Duck
01:14:34 Conclusion and call to action
The Joy of Late Spring; The VisMig Files #1
Wild Bird Acoustics
05/01/24 • 57 min
In this simple episode, I have a wonderful sound magazine to share, featuring some of my favourite species. Late May is an incredible time to field record, with most species having returned to breeding territory all over Scandinavia. As a result the natural soundscape is in full flow and the natural environment is flooded with the sounds and songs of a host of wild bird species. Some of these are widespread here in Sweden, whilst others took time and patience to track down and record. At time, one has to get out of your comfort zone and get out in darkness, in order to record those elusive night singing species. The dawn chorus is quite incredible at this time of the year and there is so much to get out and listen to in a period of just a few short weeks!
The episode also features the first of many educational segments concerning diurnal migration. The VisMig Files, as they will be called, will focus on the various calls of diurnally migrating birds. In this episode, I focus on two classic autumnal migrant species and play a number of recordings of both....
Spring Symphony; An Introduction to VisMig
Wild Bird Acoustics
04/16/24 • 68 min
A further deep dive into the wonderful sounds of Sweden in late Spring. This is a period, during which, the landscape is filled with the sounds of returning summer migrants. It is a time of auditory wonder, as the landscape slowly fills with the sounds of prospective summer breeders.
Looking forward to the second half of the episode I have put together an introduction to VisMigging. After nature has taken it's course and the breeding season has come to an end, the stage is set for the epic Autumn migration of many bird species. Here in Sweden, the early morning skies are filled with the calls and vocalizations of migrant birds, as they make their way southwards. At many sites, the incredible spectacle of migration can be enjoyed by sitting out during the early hours, observing these birds as they pass overhead. In this sound magazine, I will take you through the basics of watching, as well as listening, for visibly migrating birds over the Autumnal period...
The Liquid Strophes of late Spring
Wild Bird Acoustics
04/01/24 • 61 min
In this, the tenth episode, you shall experience the diurnal and nocturnal auditory soundscape of the wonderful avian sounds of Sweden.
First up, a sound magazine concerning the incredible diurnal sounds of late Spring, as the landscape is filled with the chimes of birds, the various displays of species intent on breeding and setting up territory, here in Scandinavia. Experience the wonder of a landscape filled with bird song.
Secondly, I will return to early Spring and share the secrets of the hidden world of nocturnal migration. In the magazine you will hear the calls of migrant birds in the dead of night. These sounds are a hidden library of often long travelling species, intent on returning to the breeding grounds in order to meet future mates and reproduce, an instinct which see's our night skies filled with the calls of these avian travellers each year, a testament to the incredible resilience of nature and the inherrent drive to return to the breeding grounds, each calender year. Experience how nocturnal, automative recording opens up such a hiiden world to our often oblivious ears...
An Interview with Dean McDonnell
Wild Bird Acoustics
03/16/24 • 90 min
A Wild Bird Acoustics interview with Dean Mc Donnell, an Irish birder and field recorder based in Co. Louth, Ireland. During the course of the interview, we discuss birding in the areas Dean has been recording at and he shares some wonderful audio of a wide range of species from the past few years...
00:00 Introduction to Wild Bird Acoustics
00:50 Interview with Special Guest: Dean McDonnell
01:29 Dean's Journey into Birding
02:29 Exploring Birding Habits and Techniques
08:29 The challenges of Sound Recording in Louth
09:53 The Fascination of Field Recording
11:04 Dean's Recording Equipment
12:45 Birding Locations and Habitats
39:19 Discussing the Sounds of Spring and Summer
41:04 The Intricacies of Birdsong
41:30 The song of Common Cuckoo's
42:59 Alarming birds and Sparrowhawk
45:14 The Sounds of the flood meadow and Eurasian Teal
54:24 The Unique sound of Hoverfly's!
01:12:02 The Song of the Skylark
01:18:20 Echolocation of the Soprano Pipistrelle
01:22:42 The Melody of the Song Thrush
The Sounds of Summer; July in the Far North
Wild Bird Acoustics
06/16/24 • 58 min
In this episode, I take listeners on an auditory journey through the sounds of the bird world in midsummer Sweden. The podcast depicts the vivid acoustics of several bird species in their respective habitats, specifically during the month of June when many scarce species can be unearthed on breeding territory. Summer birding emphasizes the importance of recognizing bird sounds over visibility due to lush vegetation. Here, I explore habitats like wetlands, woodlands, and even urban spaces. Bird species featuring here include Collared Flycatcher, Great Reed Warbler, Marsh Warbler, Blyth's Reed Warbler, Red-breasted Flycatcher, European Nightjar, Spotted Redshank, and Little Gull, among others. I hope the podcast successfully immerses the audience into the tranquil wilderness of Sweden through the audio presented...
Following a whistle stop tour of the areas around Stockholm, I will bring you north, to the peaceful island of Hällögern. Here, in July, I have spent hundreds of happy hours recording the soundscape in this remote and pristine landscape. It is a pleasure to record here and be able to share the sounds of Northern Sweden with you all here on Wild Bird Acoustics.
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FAQ
How many episodes does Wild Bird Acoustics have?
Wild Bird Acoustics currently has 29 episodes available.
What topics does Wild Bird Acoustics cover?
The podcast is about Health & Fitness, Sound, Mental Health, Nature, Podcasts, Science and Birds.
What is the most popular episode on Wild Bird Acoustics?
The episode title 'The Magic of Midsummer' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Wild Bird Acoustics?
The average episode length on Wild Bird Acoustics is 67 minutes.
How often are episodes of Wild Bird Acoustics released?
Episodes of Wild Bird Acoustics are typically released every 15 days.
When was the first episode of Wild Bird Acoustics?
The first episode of Wild Bird Acoustics was released on Jan 1, 2024.
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