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Posts Tagged ‘Spói’

Dawn at Vestursandur July 2025

Posted in Náttúra, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 20.9.2025| Leave a Comment »

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The „recording summer 2025“ started rather poorly. Cold, rainy, always strong winds and the birdlife was rather quiet. However, it does happen regularly during the nighttime the weather gets calm for about 1-4 hours. There was therefore no need to panic because the equipment was allowed to work almost every night. However, it seemed to be a small gain considering the cost, time and effort.  I only could hear birds when I wandered close to their nests or youngs
The most important thing was to follow the weather forecast, search maps and try to find new recording locations as well as get to know the local conditions. If the weather was going to be completely impossible for a microphone, it was almost always possible to set up an antenna and record the space weather.
But then it suddenly happened at the beginning of July that summer arrived with warmth and less wind. Birds also started to sing without me as a human being triggering a warning sound all over the fields.
I was then at Öxarfjordur and had thought about going to an old recording site on Vestursandur. Then I saw a gate open on a trail that has always been closed when I have been there. So I drove along the trail and suddenly I was in a green oasis that contained a lot of bird life that I did not know about.
So I found a place where it was easy to find as many recording sites as possible within walking distance.
In the end, 4 recording devices were running that night. The drawback was that in the countryside you could hear most of the night that the farmers were working all night long until early morning. But after a jet flew over, the farmers quit their work and a relaxing summer silence took over.
There is still something in this recording that gives off a vibrating background, noise or hum. Which I suspect could be the surf from the beach not far away and sometimes the occasional car traveling through the county.
Quality open headphones are recommended while listening at low to mid volume.
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(256kbps / 66Mb)

Recorder: Sound devices MixPre
Mics: Lewitt LCT540s (IRT Quad / 4x NOS)
Pix: Samsung S22

Weather: Clear sky. Calm to 4 m/sec. 12°C
Location: 66.093326, -16.645256

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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.
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  (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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Akranes at Selströnd in summer solstice 2023. Part 1

Posted in Náttúra, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 11.2.2024| 9 Comments »

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Last summer 2023 I went to a place I haven’t recorded much. Was it at Strandir in northwest Iceland. A friend invited me to stay in an apartment for a few days in Drangsnes, so I tried to use the time as well as I could for field recordings in the area.
It actually didn’t go very well. I had come down with a bad flu the same week as summer vacation started so I had little to no energy for many weeks. I was also facing another problem. The whole time I was in the area there was a strong wind except for maybe 1-2 hours during some nights. It was also rather cold, so nature was rather silent. Much of the material I caught these days was therefore not particularly interesting.
However, I had the opportunity one calm night to record a nice peace at the coastline. Part of it is here below. It’s very likely that I will put more of this recording on the web later, because the soundscape changed a bit during the 3-4 hours I was recording.
It is the summer solstice so it is therefore bright all day long. The recording starts at 23:45 and ends at 00:20 o´clock.
This is a typical soundscape in fjords in northern Iceland and in fact everywhere around the arctic circles.
This is a high gain recording.  Recorded at +50 db. Then add about 20dB up to -7dB peak RMS. No noise reduction in post. Just fade in and out.
Many bird species are in this recording. There was several gull species, at last great black backed gull. Arctic tern, common eider, whimbrel, European golden plover, red throated loon, Common loon, arctic puffin and Eurasian oystercatcher. Sheep were not far away and seals were lying on rocks near the beach.
Quality open headphones are recommended while listening at low to mid volume.
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(mp3 256kpps / 63Mb)

Recorder: Sound devices MixPre6
Mics: Lewitt LCT540s (IRT cross – 30cm/90°)
Pix: Samsung S22

Weather: Calm, cloudy, about 7°C
Location: 65.692865, -21.558621

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The shelter at Brunnahæðir

Posted in Náttúra, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 10.4.2022| 1 Comment »

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I always miss those times in the last century when I rode on a bicycle alone for weeks in the highlands. I knew every single road and trail that could be found on maps, and other routes too. I had a special ability to look at maps and make detailed travel plans based on route conditions and weather forecasts. I knew very well my physical limitations and all the places where I could seek from bad weather. Therefore I never had any problems in my travels.
Without meeting people or seeing human structure, nature and I merged into one. The journeys were therefore both mentally and physically rejuvenation.
After the year 2002, cars and traffic began to increase rapidly in Iceland. Mountain huts that used to be shelters were now closed. Many emergency huts were removed due to poor handling. It became increasingly difficult to travel without being disturbed by noisy humans and without shelter in remote locations.
One of these very few emergency huts that still exist and are open and have saved many lives is on a Kaldidalur route. For me this hut was often a first overnight stop from Reyakjavík on the way to cross the highland.
I was in Kaldidalur 28th of May 2017 to record the surroundings. I decided to record beside the hut to record a familiar sound.
This is a typical soundscape for Icelandic highland. Birds in the distance and windy and if not windy and rainy then complete silence.
Inside the hut was normally the same sound but more silent, except if there was buzzing fly in the window.
Even though it is many years since this soundscape was part of my daily experience, I get an undeniable nostalgia for the past for listening to this recording
Quality open headphones are recommended while listening at mid or low level.
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  (mp3 256Kbps / 63,7Mb)

Recorder: Sound Devices 744T
Mics: Rode NT1 NOS
Pix: Canon EOS-M

Location: 64.447652, -20.961026
Weather. Cloudy, 4-10m/sec, drizzle rain. 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.
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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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The Northern Wheatear in „COVID silence“

Posted in Náttúra, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 11.2.2021| 2 Comments »

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In recent years I have spent several nights in Skeiðarársandur to record the changes in the ecosystem.
Skeiðarársandur is a huge broad sandy wasteland along Iceland’s south-eastern coast, between the Vatnajökull icecap and the sea. It is a wonderful place to record deep natural silence in a huge open flat landscape.
For hundreds of years Skeiðarársandur has been a barren desert. but recently with shrinking glaciers and smaller glacial rivers, Birch, moss and other flora have occupied the northeast part of the sand. That means the soundscape on Skeiðarársandur will change in the future which will be interesting to record regularly in the coming years.
I have usually stayed at the same spot near a traditional sheep pen because structures like that are attractive for birds like Snow bunting, Northern wheatear and Rock ptarmigan.
I was very excited when I went to this spot on the 9th of June 2020. Because of COVID, there were almost no tourists in Iceland and therefore far less traffic.  So I was hoping for a beautifully quiet night there. I was not disappointed either. It was calm so the silence was deep. I could hear the Atlantic ocean surf among the coastline 20-30km away, which sounds slightly like low frequency rumble in the background of this recording. I could not see any bird but bird songs came from every direction, clearly far away. During the night the glacier rumbled several times in Skaftafell national park like a thunder in the distance. Once a ship engine noise was audible out of the coastline which sounds pretty spooky. It sounds more coming from the sky rather than from the coastline in the horizon, which was probably a reflection from different temperature layers in the atmosphere.
Anyway the ship engine is not audible in the following recording, but maybe in another blog.
The microphone rig was on the top of the sheep pen wall, not far away from the place which I think Northern wheatear has had a nest every year since I started to record this place. (Listen to recording since mid May 2016)
Luckily the Northern wheatear was not far away. This time the bird was not as angry about the hairy microphones as when I first brought the microphones in this place. The bird just sang for me for almost one hour and here comes part of it.

  (mp3 256kbps / 67,7Mb)

Quality open headphones are recommended while listening at low to mid level, or in speakers at low level.
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)
Pix: Canon EOS-R 

Weather:  Calm to 5m/sek, clear sky, 3 to 7°C
Location:  63.969925, -17.160018

 

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Soundscape at Fjallsjökull glacier

Posted in Náttúra, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 15.12.2020| Leave a Comment »

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There is a place near Fjallsjökull glacier I have tried to record several times in recent years. But I´ve never been happy with the result.  Mainly because of noisy traffic from road no.1 and/or surf noise from Breiðamerkurfjara beach or because of weather.
But COVID19 gave me an wonderful opportunity to record this place without tourist traffic in June 2020.
This place is a small glacial corrie south of Fjallsjökull glacier. It is a small, wet area, with several fresh water springs. Arctic flora brings lots of birds to this place so the soundscape can be very interesting with a rumbling glacier in the background.
This is a part of several hours long recording. The time is around 5 o’clock in the morning. Flock of noisy Barnacle geese has already landed not far away from the microphones. Through the whole recording these Barnacle geese come closer and closer to the microphones, so be careful, in the end they get loud.  Early in the recording two Whimbrels sing an interestingly long „love song“. Other birds are audible too, like Golden plover, Dunlin, Rock Ptarmigan and Red Throated Diver.
Once, about 2km away, a big piece of ice breaks off the glacier into the lagoon with noisy consequences.
Background noise is mainly a surf from the ocean behind the microphones, about 5 km away.
Quality open headphones are recommended while listening at low to mid level, or in speakers at low level.

(mp3 256kbps / 62Mb)

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

Weather: Calm, Cloudy, about 4°C
Location: 64.010735, -16.391960

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Dawn at Kjallaksstaðavogur

Posted in Náttúra, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 22.8.2019| 2 Comments »

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It is rear now a days to discover new places without traffic or engine nose. I found one in June 2019. It was at Fellströnd, in the northwest of Iceland. That means I have natural silence for more than a one hour. It is a south part of a peninsula which only have gravel roads and no shopping service so motorist are normally not driving there for pleasure.
Less human traffic means more biodiversity. It thrives better in places with less farming and fast driving cars. One roadkill can as well mean a death of the whole family. Car covered with smashed bugs means less food for birds… and so on. This is clearly visible and audible in those areas which have „industry“ farming and lots of fast driving traffic.
No traffic, or engine noise, means more natural silence and more transparent soundscape. Therefor it is very interesting to listen to this recordings. It is even possible to hear sheep footsteps far away and detect what bird species are in the area, even far away. In fact it is possible to analyze the situation of the biodiversity.
This is a high gain recording, recorded at +50dB. Gain was then increased in post about +25dB, normalized at -8dB and gently NR.
This is a part of 10 hour recording. This part was recorded between 7 and 8 in the morning at 21st of June.
Many bird species are audible in this recording. Black tailed Godwit, Common Redsank, Whimprel, Red necked Phalarope, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Common Ringed Plover, European Golden Plover, Dunlin, Raven, Redwing, Purple Sandpiper, Meadow Pipit, Geylag Goose, Whooper Swan, Red Throated Diver and Common Eider. I am almost sure I have not counted them all.
You can hear sheep footsteps which was though far away, also birds wing flaps as a low rumble noise.
Quality open headphones are recommended while listening at low or medium level.

(Mp3 256Kbps / 48Mb)
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Recorder: Sonosax SX-R4+
Mics: Sennheiser MKH20 (AB40)
Pix: Canon EOS M50
Location: 65.169836, -22.404601
Weather: Calm, cloudy ca 13°C

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Noisy anglers on the lake Holmavatn

Posted in Mannlíf, Náttúra, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 20.7.2019| 9 Comments »

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Hólmavatn is a heath lake in the interior in west of Iceland between the two valley Kjarrárdalur and Hvítársíða. It is a part of a big lake system on a heath named Arnarvatnsheiði.
I have once before record the soundscape by this lake before. That was mostly a struggle with wind all the time, so I did not get anything interesting.
But at 22nd of June 2019 the weather forecast was perfect for this area, clear sky and calm most of the night.
I arrived with my gear around 9 pm at my previous recording place. It was still windy and some anglers about 500m away east of the lake. I quickly put up my rigs knowing that a calm weather meant just lot of gnats. I decided to put a two stereo pairs close to the shore, facing out to the lake. LCT450s in NOS about 60 m east from my car and MKH20 pair 70 m in the west. Suddenly around 11pm the wind stopped to blow and I started the recording.
What glorious soundscape. All those small tiny things and all those bird species. The LCT540s sounds much cleaner and brighter than MKH20, I guess mainly because of the different location.
But there was a big problem which I did not notice with my bare ears. The anglers made so much noise it was clear they would destroy my „natural silence“ recordings this night. They were playing a radio all the time, talking, starting car engines, and even worse, soon after I started the recording two of them started a motor boat. All this noise lasted for about two or two and a half hours.
Later that night when this noisy anglers were gone, all the birdsong became calm and less active. I am not sure why, but afterwards when I listened to the recordings it seemed like the anglers on the boat were disturbing birds on their habitat.
Following recording is a part of this „anglers moment“, probably the best part because the motorboat was mostly far east on the lake most of this time.
In the beginning of the recording you can clearly hear tiny sparks. It is coming from foam which forms between stones in the shore during windy days. When the bobbles in this foam blows, they make this tiny sparking sound. During the recording the sparks get fewer and lower because the weather is calm and no waves on the lake.
But there are so many bird species I guess I will not know them all. Great Northern Diver, Read Throated Diever, Arctic Tern, Whooper Swan, Pink Footed Goose, Black Headed Gull, Golden Plower, Dunlin, Whimbrell, Common Snipe, Common Redshank, Arctic Skua, Rock Ptarmigan and probably some other which you are welcome, if you know, to name in comments below.
You will hear the fish jumping and Arctic Tern hunting on the lake surface. Other background noise other than human noise from anglers is mainly from the river Kjarrá which flows in the Kjarrárdalur valley 4Km north of the lake .
This recording got a gently noise reduction, mainly because of high gain.
It was recorded with 47dB gain. In post the gain was normalized +26dB up to -5dB
Quality open headphones are recommended while listening at low to mid level, or in speakers at medium level.

(mp3 256kbps / 68Mb)
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Recorder: Sonosax SX-R4+
Mics: Lewitt LCT540s (NOS setup)
Pix: Canon EOS M50
Location: 64.799603, -20.895132
Weather: Dry. Mostly calm up to 5m/sec

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Dawn at Klaustur

Posted in Náttúra, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 8.4.2018| Leave a Comment »

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Kirkjubæjarklaustur (Klaustur) is a village in the south of Iceland on the hringvegur (road no. 1 or Ring Road) between Vík í Mýrdal and Höfn. It is part of the municipality of Skaftárhreppur and has about 500 inhabitants.
Even before the time of the first Norse settlement in Iceland, Irish monks are thought to have lived here. Since 1186, a well known convent of Benedictine nuns, Kirkjubæjar Abbey, was located in Kirkjubæjarklaustur, until the Reformation in 1550. The names of the waterfall Systrafoss („waterfall of the sisters“) and of the lake Systravatn („water of the sisters“) on the highland above the village refer to this abbey. Folk tales illustrate the history with stories about good and sinful nuns. The Systrastapi (sister’s rock) is where two of the convent’s nuns were buried after being burned at the stake. One of the nuns was accused of selling her soul to the Devil, carrying Communion bread outside the church, and having carnal knowledge with men; the other was charged with speaking blasphemously of the Pope. After the Reformation, the second sister was vindicated, and flowers are said to bloom on her grave, but not that of the first nun. Systravatn also has a legend relating to the convent. The nuns traditionally bathed in the lake, and one day two nuns saw a hand with a gold ring extending from the water. When they tried to seize the ring, they were dragged below the water and drowned.
The village became well known in Iceland during the Lakagígar volcano eruptions in 1783. The pastor of the local church and dean of Vestur-Skaftafellssýsla, Jón Steingrímsson (is) (1728 – 1791), delivered what became known as the „Fire Sermon“ (eldmessu) on July 20, 1783. The legend says that this sermon stopped the lava flow, and the village was spared at the last moment. The current church, constructed in 1974, was built in memory of the Reverend Jón Steingrímsson.
Today, the village is an important service center for the farms in the region as well as for tourists and weekend visitors. (Wikipedia)
During summer time many bird species are nesting close to the village and the river Skaftá which flows beside the village. Arctic Terns have a big colony almost in the middle of the village, so many other migrant birds are nesting there too.
The recording was captured early morning 7th of June 2016 and is a part of 7 hours long recording
Many bird species are in this recording, Arctic tern, Red wing, Common Snipe, Whimbrel, Common Redshank, Red-necked Phalarope and probably many other species. What I love most in this recording is in the middle of the recording, is a „special song“ of Eurasian Wigeon which is not a common bird in my recordings.
Quality headphones are recommended while listening at low to mid level, or in speakers at low level. Be careful, sometimes the level goes high when birds fly by.

(mp3, 265kbps / 59Mb)

Recorder: Sound devices 788
Mics: Sennheiser MKH20
Pic: Canon EOS-M

Location: 63.787049, -18.050793
Weather: Cloudy, Calm, around 7 °C

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