Ebbor Gorge, Somerset Dawn Chorus

There’s a welcome reduction in aircraft during the coronavirus pandemic, which means our soundscapes aren’t scarred by the rumble of jets. I listened to the lovely soundscape unfold, with an extract from the early part of the chorus which is more sparse, the later part which is denser and richer in sound.

It was a lovely expedition to a local nature reserve, and I am intrigued to sample other nearby soundscapes with less human-induced noise. The gorge helps shield the valley from noise, it will be interesting to see if this works on the Somerset Levels as well, which don’t have the protection of lots of limestone rock.

International Dawn Chorus Day

I joined with Locusonus and the Reveil project to broadcast birdsong from near my garden for International Dawn Chorus Day. Due to the coronavirus pandemic the choice of locations was limited. It’s good to appreciate one’s local birds, however, this blackbird sang well after he’d settled down from whatever fright woke him up at the start.

These mics aren’t the finest – basically cheap Chinese electrets because they’ll be left out in all weathers. IDCD was a still dry day, and the birds could give of their best, with human noise lower than usual. The recording extract starts at at about a quarter to six BST.

Urban birdsong – Brunswick Rd rec dawn chorus

Ipswich council did a nice job making this rec better for wildlife while keeping the facilities, and it’s a pleasant little oasis of birdlife. The birds are getting up earlier than the Sunday traffic on the ring road, this recording is a lovely piece of avian exuberance and joie de vivre.

Recording started at 5:30 am

Brunswick Road rec wildlife area