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Posts Tagged ‘Common Snipe’

Cold Midsummer Night 2023

Posted in Náttúra, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 14.3.2025| Leave a Comment »

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Here is a recording that was left to run for a whole summer night, 29th of June, 2023.
The summer vacation was coming to an end, I had been suffering from a kind of flu for a month. I had no energy for long, difficult journeys, or lying outside in any weather to record and bird life that had been extremely silent all spring due to the cold and wet.
Field recording is by no means an easy and blissful job.
Although it is often possible to be filled with hopelessness and feel as if nothing has been recorded, it always becomes clear on closer listening that interesting material is often hidden somewhere in long recordings.
Here is one recording that I recorded at a farm that I have access to.
This night I decided to use the NT1 beneath a house wall to have a shalter against the wind. The choice of NT1 was made because if I had used an omni microphone there would have been an annoying reflection or echo from the house wall.
It is dawn and you should hear a lot of birdsong. But the wind drowns out all the birdsong.
But then the wind starts to calm down and you can hear more birdsong and bird actictivity, both near and far.
This recording is a bit of a mystery. It is therefore likely that I will later put another part of it on the web.
Quality open headphones are recommended while listening at low to mid volume.
If the media player doesn’t start to play, please reload this individual blog in a new tab or frame.

  (mp3 256kbps / 64Mb)

Recorder: Sound Devices MixPre6
Mics: Rode NT1 (NOS 30cm/90°)
Pix: Samsung S22

Weather: Windy up to 15m/sec, coudy, about 4°C
Location: 64.673300, -21.629835

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Flói in dawn 13th of June 2023

Posted in Náttúra, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 19.10.2024| Leave a Comment »

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I think I have annual recordings from the same place in the nature reserve in Flói in southwest Iceland almost since 2009. The reason is simple. It’s always interesting to follow the local acoustics from year to year. So I don’t have to spend a lot of time finding a location for the microphone. They stand in the same place unless something else disturbs it, e.g. high ground water level or something else that hasn’t yet happened to me. I go to the place hoping that there is no one in „my place“ in the parking lot where I can pull out my 75 meter 4ch long cable to the place where I have always recorded. I find a good ground for the microphones, get in the car, start recording and go to sleep.
I usually wake up when someone comes driving into the parking lot about 4-6 hours later.
I usually never listen to what I recorded, except when I need to look for something interesting to post on this audio blog like now.
It is well worth having a recording from Flói this month when 15 years have passed since this audio blog went online. Flói has followed this blog ever since I got my first HD recorder. It was then that the batteries suddenly lasted longer than 30 minutes, but it opened up a whole new world for me to record in nature.
Here is an audio recording from June 13, 2023. The area was extremely wet after heavy rains. I positioned the microphones to be in close proximity to the Read necked phalarope. But maybe there wasn’t as much activity as I wanted. But instead you can hear various sounds that I am not quite sure where they are coming from. There are weak „clicks“ that can be heard e.g. for 1:30 min in this recording as well during the 30 minutes that the recording lasts.
As usual, there are many species of birds in Flói. Red-throated Loon. Red-necked Phalarope, Common Snipe, Golden Plover, Whimbrel, Common Eider and certainly other duck species as well. Common Redshank, White Wagtail, Winter Wren, Northern Wheatear, Common Redpoll, Snow Bunting, Swan and maybe other bird species that I cannot name.
Background noise is some traffic and surf from the south coast and air traffic.
You can hear it occasionally in the wind because I covered the wind shield with buff but not fur. Instead, you can hear much better in subtlety details.
This is an extremely low-key recording, except where you hear the Red-throated Loon. The recording was recorded with 50db gain (40Hz HPF), then the gain was further increased by +10dB in post-processing.
Quality open headphones are recommended while listening at low to mid volume.
If the media player doesn’t start to play, please reload this individual blog in a new tab or frame.

(mp3 256kbps / 64Mb)

Recorder: Sound devices MixPre6
Mics: Lewitt LCT540s (IRT cross 90°/30cm)
Pix: Canon EosR

Location: 63.900935, -21.191930
Weather: Cloudy, calm, about 5°C

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Recording dawn with Zoom F3 and Rode NT1

Posted in Náttúra, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 22.11.2022| Leave a Comment »

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Early last spring I was asked if I wanted to record a 24-hour long recording for Radio Art Zone.
It wasn’t a problem because I’m used to recording 8-14 hours of content whenever I can.
So I made two / three 24hrs recordings in total.  All recorded in similar locations on the 23rd-25th. April 2022 in the countryside.
I recorded on four channels with an IRT cross version and in two other locations with two channels in AB & NOS.
If I remember correctly, I sent the IRT recording to Radio art project. The AB recording is already audible on this soundblog, „The brook below Lambaklettur“
The NOS recording was forgotten, until I found it last week.
It was recorded with Rode NT1 microphones and a Zoom F3 recorder.
This recording contains natural „silence“. When I talk about „silence“ I mean that most people would not hear anything with bare ears. Probably only the blood flow in their own body.
But it was not total silence when this recording started here below. The migratory birds had already started to flock to the country. It was also a drizzly rain and therefore quite humid all night while the recording took place. The fur on the windshield got quite wet and you can hear larger drops falling on the wind shield, on the tripod and on the ground around.
This recording starts around the time when birds start to be heard in the early morning. The windshield is already very wet, so it must have adversely affected the recording quality. But surprisingly it is not heard that the NT1 is cracking due to air humidity.
The Zoom F3 had gain set at „256“ and HPF at 40Hz. I’m used to recording with 47 to 50dB gain for such silent recordings. Gain „256“ is therefore not telling me anything, but having worked on this recording, 256 seems to be something similar to 50 to 55 dB gain. This actually needs further consideration because It can be an important issue. The reason why I don’t record with a gain higher than 50dB on the Sound Devices or Sonosax recorders is to prevent additional „amplify noise“ that I feel increases if the gain is over +50dB. It is therefore  always better to increase the gain digitally“ in post.
I have a hard time realizing this with the F3 device. The noise seems to go hand in hand with different gain. No matter what the gain is. Whether I should generally record with „256“ gain or „128“, when recording quiet soundscapes needs further testing. I find the noise a bit more in this recording than if I had recorded with the Sonosax for example, but that noise I hear and see on spectrograms could also be a sound from the drizzle, or raindrops when they fall to the ground. It can therefore be assumed that there is some natural noise in that recording. Therefore it is not entirely possible to blame F3 or NT1 for all the noise that can be heard.
The first sound file is over 30 minutes long which has got a gentle noise reduction and then below 5 minutes of original recording for comparison (without NR). Both recordings are normalized up to -10dB. The original files from the recorder had a -38dB peak value which is normal for „quiet“ recording like this.
Bird species in this recording is mainly common snipe, whooper swan, black tailed godwit, redwings, whimbrel, golden plover and eurasian wigeon.  Most of them are in the distance in this recording.
I will post the continuation of this recording later. Then the number of birds increases and they come closer to the microphones.
Quality open headphones are recommended while listening at low volume.
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  (mp3 256kbps / 62Mb)

Original recording from Zoom F3, only normalized up to -10dB & downgrade to mp3

  (mp3  256kbps / 9,4Mb)

Recorder: Zoom F3
Mics: Rode NT1 (NOS)
Pics: Canon EOS R

Location:  64.673258, -21.630001
Weather: Drizzle rain, about 4°C

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The brook below Lambaklettur

Posted in Náttúra, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 8.6.2022| Leave a Comment »

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It’s time for me to put a recording from my new Zoom F3 on the web.
The recording is from Stafholtstungar in Borgarfjörður, western Iceland, 4th of June 2022.
This is a 30 minutes part of another 35 hour long recording at circa 5AM. All these 35 hours I used only three 10Ah / 5V Li-Ion batteries. So each battery, which is smaller than the recorder, lasts for 12 hours.
It is different from around the mid eighties when I tried to record a natural sound on a Sony TC-D5M cassette recorder with a 4Ah acid battery that lasted for about 3 hours, or for 30 minutes with internal batteries.
The microphones in this recording were Rode NT1  in AB45 setup, dressed in Rycote WS2 windshields, about 20cm from the ground. It was recorded at 32bit / 48khz, with a recording gain at „32“ which I could believe was comparable to a 45dB gain at Sound Devices. In post-production, the recording was normalized by + 22dB up to -6dB and then converted to mp3 256kbps.
Various bird species are in the recording, such as Redwing, common snipe, common redpoll, whooper swan, raven, rock ptarmigan and definitely other birds too.
The name „Lambaklettur“ (Lamb rock) is a rocky hill above the recording site.
Quality open headphones are recommended while listening at medium or low volume
If the media player doesn’t start to play, please reload this individual blog in a new tab or frame.

  (mp3 256kbps / 56Mb)

Recorder: Zoom F3
Mics: Rode NT1. AB45 setup
Pix: Canon Eos R

Location: 64.675900, -21.623373
Weather: Dry, calm, clear sky, 5°C

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Flói Nature reserve, 3rd of July 2021

Posted in Náttúra, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 15.3.2022| Leave a Comment »

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It has been several years since I published a recording from Flói nature reserve. The reason is more or less because of foul weather in recent years when I have had the opportunity to record there.
It was no exception last summer from late April to mid July. It was cold, windy and wet most of the time which is actually the high season for birdsong recording.
I went there on the 3rd of July 2021 and recorded overnight. The weather was calm in the beginning but the wind increased over the night. I was also struggling with increased sea tide and therefore a surf noise from the coast line, actually at the same time when the birds were most active during the dawn.
My mics were Lewitt LCT540s in IRT cross setup. Most of the bird’s activity was in front of channel 1&2. Most „silence“ was in front of channel 2&3 and most of the surf and traffic noise was at channel 4&1.
It surprised me how much traffic was there the whole night. There was almost constant rumble in the air during the ten hours I was recording, except between four and five o’clock in the morning. This noise was much more audible than I remember in my earlier recordings. The reason could be found in different mic setup and mics. Ten years ago I used to use NT1a in NOS or AB, pointing towards the open field and keeping the nearest road and coastline behind. I have also used MKH20 in AB which is less sensitive for these details than large capsule mics.
It takes time to search in this 10 hour long recording for some nice sounding 30 minutes moments. Listening to the whole four channels it starts with heavy traffic noise in all channels, then surf noise. Then traffic noise again until the wind and the sun makes the air so unstable close to noon, both traffic noise and bird activity almost disappear in the wind noise.
But with an IRT cross rig I have many options. I can turn off the channel or channels which are disturbing for the soundscape I am looking for.
The recording below is a very good example of this. Instead of using all four channels and mixing them to stereo, I use only channel 2&3 (NOS 90°/30cm) to avoid the surf noise. The time when it starts is about 04:15 so there is almost no traffic noise, but anyway, the recording starts and ends with some engine noise in the distance.
Quality open headphones are recommended while listening at mid or low level.
If the media player doesn’t start to play, please reload this individual blog in a new tab or frame.

Recorder: Sound devices MixPre6
Mics: Lewitt LCT540s,  NOS 30cm/90°
Pix: Canon EOS R

Location: 63.900944, -21.191958
Weather: Calm to breeze, partly cloudy, ca 5-10°C

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Dawn in Stafholtstungur, part 3

Posted in Náttúra, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 18.7.2021| Leave a Comment »

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For several years I have recorded the soundscape at the same spot when I visit a cottage in west Iceland. Every time I record there I get something different and interesting, all year around.  Forestry has changed the birdlife a lot on this spot in the last 20 years.  Birds like Redwings, Common Redpoll, Eurasian Wren and Starlings are now in increased numbers since the beginning in this century.
I recorded this spot overnight both 6th and 7th of July 2021.
Lot of chicks had already left the nests so the grass field around the microphones was full of birds searching for insects which can be heard in this recording.
The following recording is not an example of the „best part“ which I record these two mornings. It is just a part of the first WAV file at the 6th which I choose because of low traffic. So more of these two days’ recordings will be audible in this blog in the future.
The time is between 2:30 am to 3:05. It is calm and quiet in the beginning until the Common Snipe begins to make a noise with its tail. Young Redwings, Common Redshanks and Snipes are all around the microphones. Other birds are not far away such as European Golden Plovers, Whimbrel, White Wagtail, Eurasian Wren, Rock Ptarmigan, and Whooper Swans in the distance.
This was recorded with four channel IRT setup, but sadly one of the cable was broken so I could only use three of the channels which was though easy to mix into INA-3
This was recorded at 48dB gain (HPF@80hz). In post the gain was increased about 30dB plus gentle RX noise reduction.
Quality headphones are recommended while listening at low or mid level or in speaker at low level.
If the media player doesn’t start to play, please reload this individual blog in a new tab or frame.

(mp3 / 256mbps 69,8Mb)

Recorder: Sound devices MixPre6
Mics: Lewitt LCT540  (IRT setup)
Pix: Canon EOS R

Location: 64.673368, -21.628709
Weather: Calm, cloudy, about 12°C
Other recordings from this location in Stafholtstungur:

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The calm spot in Mjóifjörður

Posted in Náttúra, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 17.6.2021| Leave a Comment »

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The spring of 2021 has either been windy and cold or windy and wet or both.
Even though birds are usually tough lifeforms, it has been clearly audible that they would like to have warmer days, so instead of filling the air with songs they have been quieter than other years.
Iceland is not rich with audible wildlife sounds. Everything sounds distant so if the air is unstable and wind is more than 2m/sec  then it starts to be difficult to record the wildlife   
From end of February until mid June it has been a very poor circumstances to record in an open field, mainly because of unpredictable and windy weather
In the second week of June I saw in the weather forecast a opportunity to get calm weather for a one day in Látrabjag cliffs so I packed my gear and set off.
On the way in Mjóifjörður I drove off the paved road and followed the old gravel main road to relax and make a coffee. I found a good spot. It was under a mountain slope, surrounded by low birch bush and wild flora. Beside me was a small brook and inside the bush was a shelter from the wind. The soundscape was full of life, so I put up the gear and started to record while taking a nap. 

  (mp3 256kbps / 59.7Mb)

Recorder: Sound devices MixPre6
Mics: Lewitt LCT540s (NOS)  
Pix: Canon EOS-R

Location: 65.614159, -22.823796
Weather: Cloudy, dry, 10-15m/sec, 7°C  

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Dögun við Eyrar

Posted in Náttúra, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 20.8.2020| Leave a Comment »

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Thanks to COVID, I got a unique opportunity this summer to record in places I have so far not been able to record because of traffic, mainly due to tourists. One such site was Skeiðarársandur, a broad sandy wasteland along Iceland’s south-eastern coast, between the Vatnajökull icecap and the sea. This area has been a „desert“ with deadly glacial rivers for centuries. But due to global warming and receding glaciers, rivers have disappeared. Instead, vegetation like moss, grass and trees has occupied some areas without human intervention.
It is therefore obvious that biodiversity will change significantly in the coming years.
Here is a part of an 8-hour-long recording that was taken just east of the dry riverbed of Skeiðarár, which was a huge glacial river for centuries until a few years ago when it disappeared due to changes in Skeiðarárjökull glacier.
This is a recording of silence. The microphones were placed beside a small creek which can be found all over Skeiðarársandur. Because of the wind I did not use a tripod, they just stood on the windshield on the ground which gave a pretty good result.
The background noise is mainly a gust of wind stroking the ground and surf among the coast, about 20-30Km away
Birds in this recording are Common Ringed Plover, European Golden Plover, Dunlin, Purple Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Whimbrel, Common Redshank, Whooper Swan, Greylag Goose.
Quality open headphones are recommended while listening at low to mid level, or in speakers at low level.
The name of this blog „Dögun við Eyrar“ means „Dawn at Eyrar“ (Eyrar is the name of the place)
Other recordings from Skeiðarársandur can be found here

( mp3 256kbps / 63Mb )
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Recorder: Sound devices MixPre6
Mics: Lewitt LCT540s (IRTcross) channels counter clockwise 1-2-3-4 = L-R-L-R
Pix: Canon Eos R

Loation: 63.972468, -16.956438
Weather: Clear sky. Gust up to 6m/sec. around 10°C
Recording time between 5.am to 6.am

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Dawn in Skálholt in mid July 2020

Posted in Náttúra, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 18.7.2020| 2 Comments »

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This following recording was made between 03:00 and  04:00, It is a part of seven hours long recording between 02:00 and 09:00 which I did in Skálholt, south Iceland 10th of July.
The grass was tall so the microphones were almost hidden in the grass. Lots of birds were in this grass searching for food and some of them came close to the microphones.
This is a typical soundscape of silence in a countryside which is not disturbed by traffic or by other engine noise.
Imagen you self standing in a grassland.  Front of you is a wide open wetland field.  Behind you is a  small hill with tall trees  which make a reflection of some bird calls. Two rivers are in the distance with flocks of whooper swans. The birds are all around you but mostly quiet and busy searching for flies and other insects in the grass all around you.
The recording contains many birds. Like Common Snipe, Golden Plover, Whimbrel, Raven, Common Redshank, Black Tailed Godwit, White Wagtail, Black headed Gull, Rooster, Winter Wren, Northern Wheatear, Snow Bunting, Rock Ptarmigan, Common Starling, Redwing, Whooper Swan, Eurasian Oystercatcher and probably other species.
This recording was made with four Lewitt LCT540s microphones in IRT cross. All capsules are 90° & 30cm apart which was in post mixed to two 180° stereo.
This recording is highly gained with a wide dynamic range so keep it in mind, some moments can be loud
Quality open headphones are recommended while listening at low to mid level, or in speakers at low level.

This recording is my contribution for the world listening day 18th of July 2020

  (mp3 256kbps / 60Mb)
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Recorder: MixPre6
Mics: Lewitt LCT540s (IRT cross 90¨/30cm)
Pix: Canon EOS R

Location: 64.121864, -20.534631
Weather: Calm, cloudy, around 12°C

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Mid May 2019 in Stafholtstungur

Posted in Náttúra, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 11.3.2020| Leave a Comment »

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After a dark winter with an awful weather nothing is as pleasant when migrant birds arrive to the country in the spring. Most birds arrive in April and May, and few species in Mars and June. So in mid May the air is loaded with birds song. What amazes me always is the fact that many of these birds are coming far distances from hot claimed continents like Africa and when they arrive they still have the power to fly around and sing almost 24/7 in several weeks.
It was no exception to this on May 12, 2019 when I arrived at Stafholtstungur in SW of Iceland  with my recording gear. Lot of snow was still in the mountains and the weather was cold but dry.
There are many bird species in this recording. Common Snipe, Golden Plover, Whimbrel, Common Redshank, Black Taled Godwit, White Wagtail, Winter Wren, Northern Wheatrxear, Snow Bunting, Rock Ptarmigan, Common Starling, Redwing, Great Northern Diver, Read Throated Diver, Whooper Swan, Graylag Goose and probably other species too.
This is a part of 9 hour recording I record over night with four Lewitt LCT540s microphones in IRT cross setup.   
Even though this part was recorded early morning, between 3:00 & 3:30, the recording is disturbed by human traffic in air and on ground. Wind noise which is usually difficult to avoid are audible in some moments. 
I do not strictly follow the rules about the IRT setup. I have 30cm / 90° between all capsules.
Counting clockwise normal arrangement for the channels are 1-2-3-4  to  L-R & Rs-Ls. But I pair these four channels L-R-L-R into stereo. This allows me to record 360° soundscape with four separated microphones without exactly noticing any time errors.
At the same time I also have four stereo recordings into individual directions which can be useful in some circumstances.
The problem with this „IRT stereo mix“ is that I can´t locate the direction of the sound source. But if I need that information I can always get it in the original recording file. 
In this recording Ch1 is facing to north, Ch2 to east, Ch3 to south and Ch 4 to west
This is a high gained recording. Recorder with 50dB gain, plus 24dB in post, close to be normalized (-3dB). So this is a „quiet“ recording even though it seems to be loud.. Quality open headphones are recommended while listening at low to mid level, or in speakers at low level.

(mp3 256kbps / 62Mb)
If the media player doesn’t start to play, please reload this individual blog in new tab or frame

Recorder: Sound Devices MixPre6
Mics: Lewitt LCT540S (IRT cross arrangement)
Pics: Canon EOS-M
Location: 64.673439, -21.628673
Weather: Calm to light gust, Cloudy  about 2°C 

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