Hi everyone. I wanted to introduce myself. I am currently enrolled in the
annual audio workshop that is put on by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and look
forward to learning how to record bird vocalizations from Greg Budney and
others this summer. I have no previous recording experience and my only real
expertise to share with the group is being well practiced in recognizing and
identifying the calls of arboreal forest birds here on the North Coast of
California as well as other habitats in the region.
My interest in joining the group was through being directed here by both
Donald Kroodsma and Greg Weddig who have been very kind in answering a few
preliminary questions regarding recording equipment and where to get started. I
have also looked into the Cornell web-site on recording equipment, as well as
doing google searches on microphone/recorder set-ups on line which led me to
Maurice Stith,Telinga as well as others.
I am eager to get out in the field recording and my interest and desire is
in making high quality recordings of bird vocalizations in order to produce a
CD here locally in my area to raise awareness of both the beauty of bird song
and the strong need for conservation, especially for neotropical species. I
have both an interest in recording the dawn chorus (ambient sounds) and
individual species, especially the most talented singers in our area, and my
goal is to create a CD(s) in which a percentage of the funds will be directed
towards a private (non profit) school that is in our area. My plan is to first
get a set-up to record individual species and then in time look into ambient
recording.
I currently live on 80 acres in rural Northern California about 14 miles
east (as a crow flies) from the Kings Range and Sinkyone Wilderness. I have
recorded 91 species of birds here on this 80 acres over the past eight years
and the recording opportunities on this land should be a good start. My main
recording challenges as far as sound pollution will be generators,barking dogs,
and far off plane noise as well as lots of water. We have had close to 120" of
rain this year!
With that said, I am looking into buying my first equipment and that's
where I am looking for some good advice from all the experienced recordist in
this group. I am on an alternative power system, (solar and generator) so long
hours of recharging battery packs isn't an option at this point. I want to make
the highest quality recordings that I can afford, and I am hoping to stay at or
under 3,000 $ for the total set-up.
I am interested first, in buying a microphone that focus's on specific
birds so I have been researching both the Telinga parabolic dish/mic set-ups as
well as shotgun mics mainly the Sennheiser MKH series because I am also
concerned about humidity. I should also mention that I plan on bringing my
equipment to developing countries (mainly Nicaragua,Southern Mexico) to record
so size, weight, and simplicity is important. I like the idea of the Telinga
Stereo Dat mic that records a specific call as well as recording some ambient
sounds around it. Don Kroodsma spoke highly of this set-up. Can anyone share
feedback on the quality of sound this mic produces? I also like the idea of a
stereo mic on a parabolic dish to reduce the background noise of generators
etc. It would also be great to get feedback on the Twin Science Mic. I realize
that there isn't a one size fits all mic and that I will have make some
compromises in many regards.
As far as recorders go, I have been leaning towards the mini disc format
but that may be just because of ignorance of other designs. Don Kroodsma
reccommended the flash card recorders but said they were pricey. Greg Weddig
spoke highly of his HHB Portadisc and thought that the sound was great. Is
there an affordable flash card recorder out there? The HHB Portadisc is pricey
as well. Does anyone have experience with making high quality, clean,
recordings with other mini disc recorders?
You'll all have to excuse my ignorance and I realize that this may all take
awhile to make a decision. The problem for me seems to be that there are too
many options and it all is overwhelming at this point. If anyone can reccommend
a complete outfit that is working exceptionally well under my explained
perameters above that would be EXCELLENT! I look forward to seeing what comes
of this.
Best regards to you all,
Kyle Keegan
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