Sound recording birdsong

[Richard_Jones]

Hi Ken,
The sound files as recorded by WavePad are indeed WAV (but can be reformatted to MP3 if desired).
Richard

[Jake]

I'm very much an amateur on this topic, and reading this thread is great. My only 2 cents is that I use a free program called Audacity to clean up, cut, splice etc the few audio recordings that I've submitted to ebird. I've literally just used my cell phone or a $25 dictophone that I got from AliExpress

[Ken George]

Well after a quiet and fairly damp few months, spring is fast approaching. Things will get more noisy out there, I did a small trip to Taupo and the local tui are warming up for spring. Luckily I have 3 big bush areas, which I have not visited before, all within a couple of hours drive from home: Pureora, Whirinaki and Maungatautari/Sanctuary Mountain. Has anyone done any sound recording in these locations? Any advice?

[Ken George]

I've visited two of the three mid NI forest parks, Pureora and Maungatautari Sanctuary Mountain. The latter is such a massive project with a 47km predator exclusion perimeter fence. The sound recording opportunities are excellent at both locations. A male hihi stitchbird must have been in a sociable mood on my second visit to Maungatautari. He came to the first feeder on the Southern Enclosure track and stayed for 15 minutes or so, loudly ticking and singing just a couple of metres away from me standing on the track. I got a continuous 12 minutes of recording. Nice! At the Ngaherenga Campsite at Pureora I got a recording of an unusual cackling call from one of the abundant resident Kaka. I'll add it to the post.

[3dpan]

Hi Ken,
I'm interested in learning more about recording birdsong.

[3dpan]

Well, I've ordered a pair of budget parabolic mics, just to play with stereo recording with different mic spacings.

Two of these, not the greatest but not a huge financial outlay either.

[David Riddell]

I remember back in the early 90s an elderly birder showing me something very similar he'd bought for making bird recordings. His one was just a toy really, but it was amazingly effective.

[Ken George]

I'd be really interested to hear your review of the unit when it arrives. I've considered the parabolic microphone setup but the cost and bulkiness are a bit of an impediment. Looks like this unit could be a compromise. What brand is it?

[3dpan]

I remember back in the early 90s an elderly birder showing me something very similar he'd bought for making bird recordings. His one was just a toy really, but it was amazingly effective.

Thanks, I guess the ones I've ordered could also be regarded as toys too.
Their landed cost, in my mailbox, is $75 NZ each, coming from China.

[3dpan]

I'd be really interested to hear your review of the unit when it arrives. I've considered the parabolic microphone setup but the cost and bulkiness are a bit of an impediment. Looks like this unit could be a compromise. What brand is it?

This unit is listed extensively on eBay, from several sellers in China, but no brand name given.
For example, https://www.ebay.com/itm/195118928940

It's also listed on Amazon (search parabolic microphone) with several different brand names, although all with the same images and description.

The unit I have ordered is only 250mm diameter, whereas others I have looked at are usually 500-600mm dia, and at least 20X-40X the price.
I may yet buy one of the expensive ones, but not before playing with my "toy" first

For reference, can I refer you to https://www.wildtronics.com/index.html
They're a USA manufacturer with several different models.
But their website also contains some really interesting info in the "Articles" section on parabolic mics, audio recorders and their use.