Hi David,
Yes, the main singer is a Song Thrush - the repetition of many of the key
phrases 3 - 5 times is diagnostic. It seems to be incorporating a large
amount of mimicry, I'm pretty sure I can pick out snatches of Robin song an=
d
the flight calls of Siskin in there.
I don't think the second vocalist is a Squirrel however, I'm fairly certain
it's a Sparrowhawk (
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/sparrowhawk/index.aspx has
a call for comparison) - interesting to hear the thrush singing so
confidently in close proximity to a predator.
I accidentally left my PBB array (which is covered with some cheap fake fur=
)
out in prolonged heavy drizzle recently and upon bringing it in and
anxiously removing the cover I discovered the moisture hadn't even got as
far as the backing of the fur. I guess it makes sense that natural fur is a=
n
effective waterproofing layer as mammals have relied on this for millions o=
f
years, but it's good to know the synthetic stuff does the job as well!
Regards,
Tom
On 21 February 2011 19:48, Avocet <> wrote:
> I've just had an all-nighter with rain coming and going. At what
> should have been sunrise, with the oak above the mics still dripping,
> a squirrel opened procedures. Here's a short clip with it duetting
> with a thrush. You can hear the squirrel on the ground scuttling right
> to left.
>
> http://www.stowford.org/sounds/dr000975after_rain.mp3
> (Only bass roll-off on the mixer used.)
>
> I've recorded hours of this bird recently and I have called it a song
> thrush but can someone please confirm this as it has an extremely
> varied repertoire.
>
> The forecast said rain this midday so I took a chance and left my
> MKH's out last night under a large triple-trunked oak which offers
> some protection. I record in the bedroom and hardly got off to sleep
> in the early hours when the rain arrived. It sounds torrrential on the
> mics. I got dressed and squelched into the woods to cover the mics
> with a towel and shortly afterwards the rain stopped and I went down
> again to remove the almost dry towel.
>
> Some time before dawn, the rain arrived again and sounded very heavy.
> I got up to take them in twice but found it was only showers so left
> them out. I didn't get much sleep listening to the downpours and
> worrying about the mics as I'm a pensioner and can't afford to replace
> them.
>
> When I brought them in this morning, I found the yeti covers had kept
> the Rycotes dry and the mics were fine inside. Everything is now
> drying out fully, but I really shouldn't have worried so much.
>
> David
>
> David Brinicombe
> North Devon, UK
> Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum - Ambrose Bierce
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> "While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
> sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
|