Wired for Sound Again

On the corner of my desk are two A5 notebooks full of daily moth counts, many of which are still waiting to be added to the Living Record database, and already I am several pages into notebook number three. All this moth stuff is very time-consuming, and has impacted on my birding in two main ways. One, I have found it difficult to get out for an early-morning walk before work, especially when the trap is busy. And two, I haven't bothered with nocmig since the end of May; I simply have not had the time to go through a night's recording. So a rather nice digital recorder has been lying idle for quite a while. Hopefully that is about to change.

During my recent stay at Portland Bird Observatory I tested out some new bits of kit designed to facilitate in-the-field sound recording. In previous autumns it has been fun to have the recorder running while out birding, especially on mornings with good overhead passage. However, my recording set-up, with the recorder clipped to my camera bag strap, has always felt less than ideal. It is fairly bulky, not weather-proof, and I once had a dog lunge at it, presumably thinking the 'dead cat' wind-shield was a small furry creature deserving of death. Was there a better, safer way to utilise this fairly expensive item for field recording? Yes, I think so...

Zoom H4nPro with EM272 'Clippy' mic, plus right-angle 3.5mm jack adaptor.

The EM272 is a quality microphone and, rigged as a clip-on lavalier with suitable wind-shield, is ideal for field recording. It came with an in-line jack, whereas the Zoom really needs a right-angle version, hence the adaptor. On Portland I could wander about with the recorder safely stowed in my camera bag and the mic clipped to the strap, with the lead wound around it a couple of times for security. Initial trials were encouraging. The wind-shield was very effective at minimising wind noise, and the microphone picked up bird sounds better than I did. Certainly its Siskin count was a lot higher than mine!

Obviously, the highlight of my stay was finding a Wryneck. I am aware that sometimes I quietly talk to myself when out birding, so was curious to know if chancing upon a scarce bird had prompted any involuntary outbursts. My initial view had been a fleeting glimpse when I flushed it at a footpath T-junction. I was walking the head of the T, and it flew a few yards along the stem, landing out of view behind some vegetation at the side of the path. I had no idea what it was, but through bins could just make out some well-marked feathers through the foliage. I was still puzzling over my mystery bird when it craned its neck to have a look at me. Oh! It's a Wryneck!

My recording is unexpectedly silent at this point. Not even a gasp of surprise. I am so cool. The first you hear of me is a bit of rustling as I extract my phone, then my side of a brief conversation with Martin Cade at the obs. During which, I have to say, I sound very relaxed. Like I find Wrynecks every day. Next up is a short exchange with some passing walkers who ask if they might have seen Ravens just now, and are delighted to have their tentative identification confirmed. It was almost 20 minutes before the first birders from the obs turned up, and the ensuing soundtrack is typical of any minor twitch ever. But entertaining all the same.

So there we are. I am once again wired for sound. Bring on the Richard's Pipits.