Birdsong ID – Following my walk to the top of Graig Fawr last week I met up with Martin Humphries (ex RSPB), Ed Tucker (Bio Diversity Ranger) and others for another birdsong ID walk. This time the walk was down the Cwm Dulais valley next door to Cefn Drum in South Wales. There were an amazing number of birds up there but I don’t think I am getting much better with my identification skills.
Peacocks among the chickens – One bird I can identify from its call is the Peacock and we were surprised to come across these as we passed by Chuckle Chicken Poultry. We didn’t see them, so no photo I’m afraid, but the sound is proof enough.
If you are viewing this in an email, click here to listen on the blog or here to go to SoundCloud.
It was fun to get up at 5.30 AM last Sunday for Dawn Chorus Day to go and join the Friends of Coedbach Park and Helen Grey from Swansea Nature Conservation Team. Helen organised the event and arranged for Martin Humphries to lead us on a walk and help with birdsong identification. A great time was had by all and I was able to record much of what was going on with the birds in the ancient oak woods.
Sound Clips and Spectral Images – A set of these sound clips can be found below (remember to click through to the blog if you are reading this in an email) along with a couple of the spectral displays from the clips.
Tree Creeper Spectral
Tree Creeper
Black Cap Spectral
If you are interested in viewing the other spectral display images, you can see them in this StillWalks Flickr Set.
Recently we have had some unusually hot weather for the time of year and the other day I discovered this –
Aftermath of Wildfire on the Marshes
Not as dramatic as the fires in canberra in 2003 which my friend, Simon, who lives there, was telling me about a little while ago. He described the incredible speed at which the fires spread across the length of this hill which he can see from his house.
Canberra fires 2003
The photo sent to me can also be seen on Wikipedia along with much more info.
The land in Australia is at least “designed” by nature to cope with this kind of conflagration and I am sure that nature, being what it is, will allow the marshes to recover quickly as well. However, it is still a heart rending sight to see the damage that fire can cause.
Sunrise and Robins – Having taken some photos of the results of the marsh fires, I then caught the sun coming up and enjoyed immensely the sound of this Robin which would be part of Week 9’s Marsh Wood birds recording – more available on SoundCloud. More photos on Flickr, and Facebook.
Last week’s production day on Ryer’s Down on the Gower in South Wales was a challenge. The weather suggests that the StillWalk to be produced will be “A Misty Gower Walk”. Fortunately, rain covers were not needed for the cameras but I was glad to have the waterproof case for the recorder.
I had all the sound and photography kit with me and alternated between them throughout the walk. This still meant that, for a relatively short walk, I was out recording and taking photos for 6.5 hours.
All this plus a small collapsible stool (essential piece of kit), food, water, spare batteries, filters, etc. all in a great Lowepro kit bag, meant I was pretty weighed down. The trick is to be patient, take your time and not try to fit too much into the day. The recce walks are essential to ensure this can be achieved.
The mist never lifted as I had hoped it would, and the day was not as peaceful as on the previous recce visit when the Skylarks sang for us and traffic was non existent. Instead, normal farm life was ever present with the sound of tractors and other farm equipment in the distance. The Larks, however, sang through it all and their sound was as beautiful as ever.
Virtual Walks – I hope, with StillWalks, to provide realistic virtual walks. We don’t always want to wait until a beautiful Spring day to go for a walk and sometimes the sights and sounds around us are not what we would wish. However, these things don’t stop us, and wherever or whenever we decide to go for a walk, there are always a multitude of fascinating things to see and hear. Producing StillWalks helps me to recognize and focus on these things and enjoy the surroundings wherever I may be. I hope that they do this for you as well.
Technical Problems – During the Ryer’s Down production day I came up with a problem on the Fostex recorder and had to temporarily revert to the Edirol. I can only guess that the problem was electrical interference of some sort. The problem is illustrated in the sound clip and image below. I tried switching my phone to airplane mode and then off altogether but to no avail. I checked all my settings in case I had inadvertently knocked something but found everything as it should be.
interference1
Fortunately, I was able to use the Edirol instead – it’s not as good but very useful as a back up recorder. The problem, however, was temporary as, when I tried the Fostex again about 15 minutes later and another 100 yards further on, there was no problem at all and I was able to continue using it for the rest of the day.
Spectral Display – When viewing the sound files afterwards I find the spectral display a valuable element in Adobe Audition when it comes to identifying various aspects of the sounds I record. The image above shows the pattern created by the sound of what I guessed was electrical interference – the bright, gentle curve of the sound at the higher frequency is inaudible to the human ear but the broader curve downwards into the lower frequencies and then up again is easily seen and heard.
Skylark Song – The image below shows the pattern revealed through spectral display in Audition by a Skylark – and, of course, you must listen to the 10 second clip to which the image relates – enjoy 🙂
Ryers Down Lark Spectral Display
More to come in the future about both the production and post-production element of StillWalks.
It was a beautiful bright morning this morning and I decided I just had to get out to look and listen to the sights and sounds in the park and on the marshes. Had thoughts of a new, part time project – to record at the same time each week the sounds from the same spots in this location over the period of a year and then look back and see (or hear) how they change with the seasons. Question is, will I be able to persuade myself to do it when the weather is horrible, as it is often enough in Wales!
Remember, if you’re reading this in an email, you’ll need to go to the blog to listen to the sounds – the Song Thrush is really lovely! 🙂
Daily posts? that was obviously a joke on my part. Tweets maybe, I’ll do my best at @stillwalks on Twitter if you want to follow me. In the meantime, here is a sound I haven’t heard for a long time – until last week that is . . .
Dancing Feet
My daughter went back to her old dancing class to do a photo shoot for college – I think she wants to get back to dancing again now. I miss it too – watching that is! You can view her blog at A Moment and a Lifetime
It’s a while since I lasted posted anything, I know – please be patient with me, I am still getting up to par with all this. Anyway, things are moving, as have I – i.e. travelling. This latest sound clip (see below) is from a recent journey to London for a British Tapestry Group meeting. All did not go well! The meeting was OK – Hillu Liebelt gave a fascinating talk about her work. Getting there was not so easy!
I arrived in London to discover that half the tube lines and stations were not in use. No problem getting to Tate Modern – lovely walk along the Embankment and the Tate is an experience on its own (watch out for the StillWalk). Afterwards I crossed the Millemium Bridge ‘cos I wanted to, and then headed for the tube . . . 1st station closed . . . and the 2nd . . . and the 3rd . . . finally London Bridge was open but I couldn’t figure out which lines/stations were open to allow me to get to Richmond. Knackered by this time, I waited in the ticket queue for assistance and finally took a roundabout route out to the BTG meeting, arriving late and exhausted.
To end on a brighter side – the weather was beautiful and I enjoyed the train journey up to London – got some work done, emailed some friends and recorded this great clip of travelling under the Severn Estuary.
