I and my family spent a bank holiday last weekend in May in Union´s vacation house at Apavatn in south Iceland. The weather was typical for spring. Sunny, but cold and windy.
This was not exactly the best weather to record bird song, or “nice spring mood”, but when I placed the microphones not far away from the house, a White Wagtail gave me a nice tweet as a professional singer close to the microphones.
Not far away was a playground with big trampoline. Most of the background sound is the drumming sound from this trampoline, screaming children and waves from the lake. Through the all recording a weak tweet sound is coming from young bird in nearby nest.
In the end of the recording people are gathering together in a hot tub.
Það gustar um Maríuerlu.
Það var um júróvisjonhelgina 2012 sem fjölskyldan fór í orlofshús við Apavatn. Veðrið var ágætt að sunnlenskum hætti. Sól, en fremur svalt og gekk á með norðan rokum.
Mikið var um fólk á svæðinu. Því var umtalsverður skarkali, ekki síst á leiktækjasvæðinu þar sem meðal annars var risavaxið trampólín. Þar hoppuðu börn sem fullorðnir ákafast eins og heyra má í bakgrunni.
Öldur börðu grjótið við vatnið og vindur gnauðaði í trjánum. Við hvert orlofshús var grenitré og virtust fuglar hafa hreiður í þeim öllum. Maríuerla ein var stöðugt á vappi við sólpallinn og góndi reglulega inn um gluggan hjá okkur. Þegar ég svo setti hljóðnemana út fyrir hús gerði hún sér litið fyrir og tísti góða aríu í gegn um rokið.
Download mp3 file (192kbps / 24,6mb)
Recorder: Sound devices 744
Mic: Rode NT2a in spaced omni (60cm AB setup )
Pix: Canon 30D (see more picture)
There is so much spatial depth in this recording, the gusts of wind getting stronger and weaker makes it quite interesting. Hearing the people speaking at the end is a nice way to finish, this combination of natural and cultural sounds. Nice work.
Thanks Jay. I appreciate your comment.
There are some snipes in the background, for example at 0.57. Could you see them? Great recording!
Thanks Inchadney.
This is Common Snipe (Hrossagaukur in Icelandic). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Snipe
Yes I can see this bird. This bird is quiet common in Iceland during the summer.
The male bird make this sound with his tail by flying up and down not far away from the nest place, where the female can listen to this sound. The specialist say this sound is a sign to the female bird that he is both strong and healthy.
Magnús