06/10/20. Long tailed tits in Martindale.
I went out in the early evening to find a good spot to record the sounds of the red deer rutting. I was in Martindale Forest, a beautiful old oak woodland on the side of a steep fell. I could hear the deer, but they were too far away for clear recording. Instead the birds ...
40mph
For several days around the 8th/9th of September we had continuous 40mph winds. The wind is a constant feature on the Hebrides and it causes everything to sing. This is a composition made from recordings of manmade and organic materials singing in the wind. Recordings were made at RSPB Balranald, Balranald Cottage, Trinity Temple at ...
Down to, onto, and into the Sea; and back.
A composition of recordings made above, on, near and below the beaches of Uist and Barra in September 2020. Recordings were made at RSPB Balranald, Eriskay dock, Loch Sgioport, Lochoisdale, Eoligarry.
08/10/20. The sounds of Red Deer rutting in Martindale, Cumbria.
Every autumn, usually early October, red deer stags display their strength, size and virility in the “rut”. It is visually impressive, but not always easy or safe to see up close. It is equally audibly impressive. They thrash their antlers around in streams and in the bracken. Occasionally they come to blows. Most of the ...
29 07 20. Shapwick Heath, Somerset Levels.
Shapwick Heath is in the Somerset Levels. It was originally part of the substantial peat-cutting industry which was active here as recent as the 1960s. Now it is a wonderful national nature reserve. Recording made about 4:00am, sitting across the canal from a large reedbed. The dominant sound is coming from lots of Cetti’s warblers. ...
16/06/20. Rolling thunder in Herefordshire.
Thunderstorms are not very frequent in our part of Herefordshire. But last month (16/6) we had one that lasted for over an hour. It starts very quiet, and grows in intensity as the storm comes nearer. The recording begins when the weather is still quite clear and the plants are full of bees. Birds remain ...
20/03/20. Cors Caron nature reserve, Ceredigion
Cors Caron: A nature reserve comprising a large raised bog near Tregaron. Spectacular setting, and I had it all to myself on the spring equinox this year. I left home at 3:30am and got there by 5:15 or so; then walked into the reserve to make this recording. I started recording at about 5:45 (sunrise ...
23/02/20. Nek Chand Rock Garden, Chandigarh.
In the ’50s Nek Chand started to build a secret rock garden near Sukhna Lake; he collected rubbish (ceramic – often from old sinks and toilets, electrical ceramics as well as wires and insulators) from the city and used it to fashion amazing creatures in the landscape. It is one of the most joyful places ...
01/03/20. Brown Headed Barbets in Leisure Valley, Chandigarh.
Chandigarh was designed by Le Corbusier in the early 1950s. It is a beautiful city, filled with trees and parkland and has glorious views of the Shivalik Hills, a mountain range in the foothills of the Himalayas. Chandigarh is also a thriving and very busy place, and it is impossible to escape the sounds ...
01/03/20. Sukhna Lake at sunrise.
Sukhna lake in Chandigarh is a very popular place for walkers and joggers, but it is also a nature reserve. In the eastern, more secluded part of the lake is where you will find many local and winter visitors. I went this morning just after sunrise and recorded a few minutes of their calling ...
