Its been a while since I posted any sounds so I'll try and make up for it.
This past weekend I was at a reed bed next to a large lake in Switzerland (=
Lac de Neuchatel)and I got the following mystery call. It was about 75 m fr=
om me so it was a strong loud call, but I never saw the bird. I later met =
a couple of birders who seemed to know the place and played it back, the fi=
rst told me he thought it was a Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) but, th=
e second told me he was sure it was a (European)Bittern (Botaurus stellaris=
), which made a bit more sense to me as it was a strong noise. However this=
is not the usual Bittern "boom" and I cannot find any reference material o=
n the web, has anyone any good clues for me ? 3 cuts follow, sorry for the =
dogs and planes - it was a busy place !
http://cjhails.googlepages.com/bittern%3F
In a quieter corner, what I was more sure about was this Nightingale which =
I think is among the best of our European singers. It gets a bit mixed up w=
ith what I think is a Garden Warbler muttering in the background at the sta=
rt, also in the background Black Kites, Golden Oriole, Wood Pigeon, Greylag=
Geese, Common Crow, Yellow-legged Gull, Cuckoo.....and the odd bee hitting=
my parabola....
http://cjhails.googlepages.com/nightingale
Enjoy.
Chris
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