> When it came to light with Martyn's help that I had recorded the voices o=
f not two, but three!! species of owl, a quiet skeptical voice whispered "t=
oo good to be true". Others of you may have heard a similar voice. I start=
ed looking at the facts--
> 1. All three voices came from the same direction, left of center
> 2. The calls were evenly spaced, about 30 seconds apart
> 3. A mixed-species flock of owls would likely be a major news event in or=
nithological circles
> 4. I listened again carefully to this file--the Great Horned Owl voice se=
quence is strangely truncated
> 5. While this meadow is more than a mile from the nearest road, it was po=
ssible there had been others present at this meadow before I returned to re=
trieve my well-concealed gear at 0630
> 6. So, if a birder had been there using playback to see what owls might b=
e there, what recordings might have been used? There are two birding apps =
available for ipods--Sibley's and the one called IBirdPro. I checked Sibley=
's, no match. IBird Pro, E Voila!! The recordings on this app match perfec=
tly the voices I recorded.
>
> Well, the Mkh 20's and the SD702 did a great job of capturing what was th=
ere to hear. But the real Spotted Owl recording I got remains the most val=
uable for this trip.
I have an amusing sidebar to your experience.
I've noticed that some of the most common owl identification recordings hav=
e what sounds to me like clipping distortion. Then I heard that distortion =
in your recording. I was correcting myself, saying "ok, that's not distorti=
on, that's what they really sound like." Oops!
-Dan
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