Thanks very much for that. I hadn't thought of listening to it slowed down,=
so I'll have to give that a try.
My memory is that there was a very clear vocalisation at or before it took =
off, and I was surprised that it wasn't obvious on the recording. I'm wonde=
ring now if this is simply because the ME66 was pointing forwards and the b=
ird was almost at my feet, making its recorded volume much lower than I exp=
ected. I'll have to try to remember to point it down more next time I try =
this.
What do you mean by "listening to the reverb"? How do you do that? Is it ob=
vious at low speed?
Peter Shute
From: =
.com] On Behalf Of Avocet
Sent: Monday, 7 November 2011 1:07 PM
To:
Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] What's this sound on this track? Bird or e=
quipment fault?
> I recorded the sound of a quail being flushed, and there's this odd,
> very brief squeak ...
Peter,
I slowed down the recording 4 and then 16 times and listened on a loop
play. There is a double vocalisation near the start, and what is
almost certainly a second double vocalistion as it departed. The
rhythm of its wingbeats was unbroken and there are no gaps except for
very brief pauses between the wingbeats so I don't suspect a hiccup in
the recording. The clincher was listening to the reverb which
accompanied both vocalisations and remained consistent.
If it was mic or mount noise, I would have expected an LF blip at that
point, so I reckon it's all bird generated sounds. The wingbeats are
all "hard" suggesting that they may have been touching or at least
strongly "feathering" as is normal with take-off flight like a chicken
or pigeon. This can be quite squeaky sometimes, but not like the
vocalisations.
David
David Brinicombe
North Devon, UK
Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum - Ambrose Bierce
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