Autumn is almost upon us, which means one thing for many active birders, fall migration. For all birders, Autumn is perhaps the most highly anticipated time of year. Migration takes place on an epic scale over the fall months and there is much to enjoy in the field. For many, it is the spectacle of migration itself, that fires the senses. For others, it is the hopes or rarities, vagrant bird that have been swept far from where they ought to be, only to be found on a far flung headland by a lucker observer. For me, it is the rich soundscape overhead, the calls that fill our skies, as passage migrants flood southwards. In this episode, I wanted to delve into some of the wonderful sounds of the Swedish Autumn. I begin with a small audio magazine on the vocalizations of two supremely evolved specialists of Swedish coniferous woodland, Red Crossbill and Parrot Crossbill. These highly adapted, far wandering finches move widely over large areas. Furthermore, they are resilient birds, hardy late Winter breeders and are exceptionally interesting from a sound recording standpoint..
 The main course, so to speak, will be an extensive sound magazine, with all audio recorded over the course of September 2024.  I spent ten days on this tiny island of Hällögern, along the Baltic coastline of Västerbotten, in Northern Sweden. During this time, I was free to spend all of my time field recording the sounds of Autumn migration at the site, in a wonderfully noise free and pristine environment. For me, it simply doesn't get any better than this.  Using the audio I recorded during the trip, I will share the wonderful sounds and ambience of this little island, which lies just a hundred metres offshore. This represents an audio snapshot of a wonderful location...

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 With autumn approaching, a wonderful time to be out in the field, Wild Bird Acoustics concentrates on an autumnal episode of sounds from the far north of Sweden, along the coast of Västerbotten. Here, in an environment of solitude, I have been collecting audio of the sounds of both resident and passage bird species over the past number of years. In this episode, I share audio from the autumn of 2024. 

The first sound magazine concerns nocturnal migration at Hällögern, a simple round up of my higher quality recordings, all made at night at this location over the course of early autumn in 2024. This should appeal greatly to those listeners with a keen interest in nocturnal migration.

The main sound magazine concerns recordings made over a nine day period in late September 2024 at the site. Despite windy conditions over most of the period, which resulted in a poor period of active diurnal migration, I still managed to record some wonderful audio. I fervently hope this will be enjoyed by listeners.

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 Another audio packed episode at Wild Bird Acoustics! I begin with a magazine entitled 'The Fruits of 2024', a random collection of field recordings, all of which were taken over the course of Spring 2024. I had a wonderful time visiting different locations at that time, simply recording the wonderful soundscapes I came across whilst out in the field. As I often do, I simply wandered around various locations, letting the sounds of singing birds define what I recorded next, at times, simply moving from one songster to the next...

 Following this rather random sound magazine, a more planned and researched piece which I have put together carefully over the past year. This extensive sound magazine concerns the sound identification of migrating Buntings. Buntings are widespread Autumnal migrants and they remain one of my favourite species groups. As you will know by now, I am extremely drawn to migrating passerines and there is nothing I enjoy more than being out at dawn, monitoring fall migrants as they move southwards. Visible migration can be challenging and there is much to learn. Often, as large numbers of migrants can be high overhead  on mornings such as this, an extensive knowledge of vocalizations and calls is the key to unlocking the secrets of migration. This sound guide to Buntings has been formulating in the recesses of my mind for a few years now. It has taken me many years to collect enough audio to finally tackle this project, featuring one of my favourite groups of passerine species. The audio here has been gleaned from many early morning sessions. Establishing two listening stations here in Sweden has proved the key to unlocking this particular box, allowing me to accumulate a large amount of reference material to work with and share. I really hope this can help encourage others to get out into the field and enjoy the incredible spectacle that is bird migration. Buntings are a fascinating group of species and several species are recorded on passage here in Sweden. Here, I take a deep dive into the calls of a number of species that occur here and discuss each in turn....

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 Over the course of 2024, I spent several weeks at coastal Västerbotten, field recording birds on the tiny island of Hällögern. During the summer months, this was often a rather relaxed affair and I frequently left microphones in the field for long periods. often in areas where I knew certain species frequented. As the island is wonderfully quiet in the summer at night, long soundscapes were often my focus, but within these long recordings there were many wonderful moments. I wanted to share some of that audio in this episode.

   At this same location, as summer moves into autumn, many migrant bird species begin to funnel southwards along the Swedish coastline. This stream of migration is something that I am always drawn towards and there is nothing better for me than standing out at  a coastal site in fall as the sun rises. Birds begin to move overhead from first light and soon after dawn, on a good morning, the skies are filled with the contact calls of many migratory species as they move overhead. There are many locations to witness this spectacle, but the far north holds a special place in my heart to witness this. Along the coast of Västerbotten, the silence is only broken by the sounds of migrant birds, making it the perfect site for the field recorder to monitor and record migrant birds. In this main sound magazine, I share some wonderful audio highlights from 2024 from my favourite part of Sweden. Think of it as an audio diary of sorts...

I will wind down with a relaxing soundscape from the same part of the world, recorded earlier in the year, at a time when the sun barely drops below the horizon. Recording under the midnight sun is the best time to record the incredibly peaceful sounds of Arctic Terns, as they forage in still conditions.

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Firstly, a short sound magazine dealing with the calls of Eurasian Skylark and Woodlark on spring passage here in Sweden. One is a species that is widespread over much of Europe, the other a local breeding species, which is highly sought after by birders. Both species are magnificent songsters, both are migratory and both are species recorded overhead at migration watchpoints. I this section, we will look into their typical calls, whilst on active migration.

As always, this is followed my the main course, a michelin star journey into the auditory soundscapes field recorded in late May 2024. Join me as I talk you through my experiences in May 2024, whilst out enjoying the sounds here in Sweden and listen into the soundscapes I recorded in late spring of 2024. These are the sounds of wild Sweden in late May, many of the field recordings are a few minutes long and will allow for an immersive and relaxing listening experience.

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 I open this episode with another edition of the VisMig Files. Here I run through some of the Spring migration highlights from my main listening station at Landsort. As usual, I have tried to include only the better quality audio files, recorded during the months of March and April of various migrant species, all recorded early in the morning as they made their way north over the island. 

The main feature relates to a midsummer trip to Hällögern, a small island located on the coast of Västerbotten, Northern Sweden. Here is where I unwind each summer, relaxing in the solitude and silence that this wonderful location offers. The island is full of breeding bird species and their calls and songs fill the air, here in the land of midnight sun. In this sound magazine I have put together a particularly relaxing collection of audio, in order for listeners to experience the wonderful sounds of Hällögern for themselves...

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In the initial sound magazine in this episode, I discuss winter recording close to home, in Stockholm City. Winter in Sweden is generally quite harsh, but a milder season than is usual over the course of 2024/25 saw me venture out into the field around Stockholm City, where I managed to get some lovely recordings, despite the urban setting. In this sound magazine, I hope to highlight the possibilities of field recording close to home, even in an urban setting.

The second sound magazine will take listener's further north, to the coastline of Västerbotten, during the autumn period. Over the course of late autumn 2024, I deployed a passive recorder along the coastline of Northern Sweden, primarily to document the migration of a wide range of species in the area, by day and night.  The autumnal sounds at this location are quite remarkable, as a host of migrant species funnel southwards along the coast at this time of year. A wide range of interesting resident species add further interest at this location and some of the recordings captured can often be quite wonderful. Join me as I share some of the audio bycatch at this wonderfully quiet and remote location...

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In this episode, the second interview of the season, I was delighted to welcome Magnus Robb to Wild Bird Acoustics. As a member of 'The Sound Approach to Birding' team, Magnus Robb will need little introduction to many of the podcasts listeners. Magnus is widely respected as prolific field recorder of birds and has traveled very widely in his capacity as member of the Sound Approach team over the past twenty years or more. In this respect, he brings a vast wealth of knowledge and expertise to any conversation involving bird vocalizations. In this interview, Magnus discusses various aspects of his experiences with field recording birds, his work with the Sound Approach team and kindly shares some remarkable audio from some of the most remote corners of the world.

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In this episode, firstly, a short sound magazine that serves as an overview of my nocturnal recordings at Landsort, Sweden, over the course of the spring season in 2024. As always, plenty of interesting nocturnal migrants were identified moving over the island, a superb location for passage of many bird species at this time of the year. I discuss some of the better quality recording that were secured over the season here and share some thoughts on these..

The main feature, which follows the introductory segment, is a sound magazine comprised of various field recording taken over the course on the spring season in 2024. Here, I have delved into my library of audio from the Spring of 2024, a period when I was extremely active and spent a lot of time in the field. In essence, a nice collection of random recordings, of various species and locations, for your enjoyment.

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Over the course of Spring 2024, I was presented with a wonderful opportunity to carry out a single species project by way of good providence.  It seemed my luck was in, when a single male Northern Wheatear took up territory at Landsort, Sweden. The bird chose to sing regularly on the roof of the island's bird observatory, right next to my deployed SM Mini field recorder. As I began to listen to the recorded song strophes, it was very obvious that this individual was an astounding mimic. This single individual male bird was mirroring it's sonic environment, demonstrating it's ability to mimic species in real time as a life long learner. This prompted me to break down the audio of this incredible little songbird and attempt to unravel the species it was immitating, when it was doing so and whether it was responding to it's immediate environment in real time...

Following this initial song magazine, I will bring you on another relaxing acoustic journey. I present a long sound magazine made at a wonderfully biodiverse reserve, just south of Stockholm City. Experience the wonderful early Spring soundscapes at Sandemar Reserve, Sweden. Here there are a number of different habitats, which are full of singing birds in Spring. I spent a lot of time at this very special place in 2024 and managed some rather special audio whilst field recording there. I wish to share this, with you, the listener's...

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