We don't do snow very well in the UK, mainly because it's cheaper to
be optimistic and it's other people's fault if they get stuck in snow,
like when there's no road grit. Anyway, for the second time in 10
years I'm snowed in so what better chance to take advantage with a bit
of recording. BTW I'm a "snowfooter", a strange lot who revel in close
contact with nature and I've been complaining about the lack of snow
in Devon, but that's another Yahoo group.
The first cold spell, everything went quiet except the stream. I
recorded daytime and nightime and got plenty of nothing and that deer
I've got doubts about. Plenty of gunfire - it's like the Somme some
evenings. Good wildlife is dead wildlife around these parts. Then on
Friday came six inches of white and everyhing went quiet except a few
very distant birds. However, on Thursday I had bought a bird table but
nothing seemed to use it.
That was then and it's now avian Hyde Park Corner. I've set up my
stereo pair a few metres from the bird table looking on into the
woods. I shifted the SQN mixer arrangement into my bedroom and I can
now lie in bed recording the evening and dawn chorus, listening on
speakers, and thumbing through my bird book. I'm slowly learning how
many different calls a blackbird can make. I thought one call was a
squirrel, but squirrels don't fly - not here at least. I've also set
up a small video camera to help me identify species, and so far I've
id'd Blue, Great and Coal tits, the resident Robin, at least one LBJ,
several Blackbirds and a Pied woodpecker trying to demolish the nut
feeder. In the woods across the car park there are Tawny owls, Rooks,
Jackdaws, Crows and a Raven at least. No finches so far, but plenty in
the summer.
I previously followed the principle of leaving nature to its own
devices, but there's nothing like a bit of bribery to bring it all
close. One Blackbird sits at the base of the table while I stock it up
with suet pellets. If this snow doesn't melt soon, I'll be out of
pellets. When I've sorted and catalogued the recordings I'll put some
up, but in the meantime I've got birds' wingbeats flying around my
bedroom. Never realised they could be so noisy.
David
David Brinicombe
North Devon, UK
Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum - Ambrose Bierce
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