Sample edition

Editorial
Officers’ Reports

SOCIETY MEETING REPORTS

2019 Winter Field Meeting Caerlaverock

COLLABORATION

Call for Crossbill information

FIELD RECORDING

Reflections and Reverberations
Recording Waves at Xcacal Beach in Mexico
The Path Less Travelled
CREATIVE

Becoming Butcherbird

FEATURES

Reflections on Reflectors Interview with Klas Strandberg

EQUIPMENT

Wildtronics Parabolic Reflector Review.
The AudioMoth

SPECIES CLOSE-UP

Goldcrests

COMPETITIONS

2019 WSRS Competition Results

TECH TALK

Part 1. Sound Propagation
Part 2. Field Craft and Weather
DIY Parabolic Reflector

INFORMATION

WSRS Loan Equipment
Events & Instructions for Authors

Spring 2020 Edition

Welcome to this sample edition of the Wildlife Sound journal.

In the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, for many, the world has perhaps become a smaller place with use of video calls and people connecting with those that we normally have contact with less often. WSRS is a global community and certainly it is great to receive contributions from all around the world.

In this edition we are taken around the world to various latitudes, from our winter field meeting at Caerlaverock in the UK (55 degrees north) to Chris Watson telling us about recording sound for a new BBC television series called “The Green Planet”. He ventures at 36 degrees north to the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California then closer to the Equator to Costa Rica.

Emanuele Constantini describes his visit to record the sea waves at Xcacel beach in Mexico and the challenge of trying to avoid losing equipment to the sea. Journeying up at a very similar longitude, we reach Illinois in the US at 40 degrees North, Dick Todd tells us about his disorientation during a night time recording trip.

In Australia, Hollis Taylor discusses the technical and creative processes of using birdsong as inspiration for music composition. Transcription of the extraordinary vocalisation of the butcherbird, allows compositions to be scored for performance by musicians.

Our most northerly reference point in this edition is to Sweden, where the founder of Telinga is interviewed by Mark Ferguson, exploring some of the history and development of this well-established recording device.

On the subject of reflectors, Tony Fulford reviews and shares his field recording experience with the Wildtronics parabolic reflector produced in the USA, whilst Dick Todd describes his early efforts to make a DIY parabolic reflector.

Back to the UK and with the increase in popularity and practical use of unattended recording, Richard Youell reviews the AudioMoth. Richard discusses how this small device can be useful to survey possible recording locations unattended for long periods and without the risk of ‘losing’ expensive microphones and recorders.

In our ‘Species Close-up’ section, Philip Radford gives a delightful and detailed account of the Goldcrest.

In the Tech Talk section we look at some more technical properties of sound and how an understanding of this can aid our field craft. The first is an article about sound propagation written by the Editor and the second part is written by Simon Elliott and discusses in detail, field craft and weather.

We reveal the results of the WSRS 2019 competition for the main five classes, Individual, Species, Combination, Habitat and Creative. A big thank you to everyone who entered and of course we can start to think about submissions for the next competition.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the journal and that we are able to stay safe and connected as a community using the tools we have available via the WSRS website and Officer contacts.

Thanks
James

WSRS members can download it from here