Another audio packed episode at Wild Bird Acoustics! I begin with a magazine entitled 'The Fruits of 2024', a random collection of field recordings, all of which were taken over the course of Spring 2024. I had a wonderful time visiting different locations at that time, simply recording the wonderful soundscapes I came across whilst out in the field. As I often do, I simply wandered around various locations, letting the sounds of singing birds define what I recorded next, at times, simply moving from one songster to the next...

Following this rather random sound magazine, a more planned and researched piece which I have put together carefully over the past year. This extensive sound magazine concerns the sound identification of migrating Buntings. Buntings are widespread Autumnal migrants and they remain one of my favourite species groups. As you will know by now, I am extremely drawn to migrating passerines and there is nothing I enjoy more than being out at dawn, monitoring fall migrants as they move southwards. Visible migration can be challenging and there is much to learn. Often, as large numbers of migrants can be high overhead on mornings such as this, an extensive knowledge of vocalizations and calls is the key to unlocking the secrets of migration. This sound guide to Buntings has been formulating in the recesses of my mind for a few years now. It has taken me many years to collect enough audio to finally tackle this project, featuring one of my favourite groups of passerine species. The audio here has been gleaned from many early morning sessions. Establishing two listening stations here in Sweden has proved the key to unlocking this particular box, allowing me to accumulate a large amount of reference material to work with and share. I really hope this can help encourage others to get out into the field and enjoy the incredible spectacle that is bird migration. Buntings are a fascinating group of species and several species are recorded on passage here in Sweden. Here, I take a deep dive into the calls of a number of species that occur here and discuss each in turn....

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Over the course of 2024, I spent several weeks at coastal Västerbotten, field recording birds on the tiny island of Hällögern. During the summer months, this was often a rather relaxed affair and I frequently left microphones in the field for long periods. often in areas where I knew certain species frequented. As the island is wonderfully quiet in the summer at night, long soundscapes were often my focus, but within these long recordings there were many wonderful moments. I wanted to share some of that audio in this episode.

At this same location, as summer moves into autumn, many migrant bird species begin to funnel southwards along the Swedish coastline. This stream of migration is something that I am always drawn towards and there is nothing better for me than standing out at a coastal site in fall as the sun rises. Birds begin to move overhead from first light and soon after dawn, on a good morning, the skies are filled with the contact calls of many migratory species as they move overhead. There are many locations to witness this spectacle, but the far north holds a special place in my heart to witness this. Along the coast of Västerbotten, the silence is only broken by the sounds of migrant birds, making it the perfect site for the field recorder to monitor and record migrant birds. In this main sound magazine, I share some wonderful audio highlights from 2024 from my favourite part of Sweden. Think of it as an audio diary of sorts...

I will wind down with a relaxing soundscape from the same part of the world, recorded earlier in the year, at a time when the sun barely drops below the horizon. Recording under the midnight sun is the best time to record the incredibly peaceful sounds of Arctic Terns, as they forage in still conditions.

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Firstly, a short sound magazine dealing with the calls of Eurasian Skylark and Woodlark on spring passage here in Sweden. One is a species that is widespread over much of Europe, the other a local breeding species, which is highly sought after by birders. Both species are magnificent songsters, both are migratory and both are species recorded overhead at migration watchpoints. I this section, we will look into their typical calls, whilst on active migration.

As always, this is followed my the main course, a michelin star journey into the auditory soundscapes field recorded in late May 2024. Join me as I talk you through my experiences in May 2024, whilst out enjoying the sounds here in Sweden and listen into the soundscapes I recorded in late spring of 2024. These are the sounds of wild Sweden in late May, many of the field recordings are a few minutes long and will allow for an immersive and relaxing listening experience.

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Support the show

Subscibe to Wild Bird Acoustics here;
https://wildbirdacoustics.buzzsprout.com


Lots more audio related material here at my long running website;
https://blogbirder.blogspot.com/