Happy New Year everyone!  I bet you all wish you were at our old base
camp in the SN this week!Ten ft. of snow and 100mph winds expected.
We should re-name that place.  How about "Camp
Run-a Muck".

We needed a good recording of a pygmy nuthatch to resolve
a disputed habitat situation where the bird was heard by one person...
but not seen. We had a respectable results with 176 species
identified. Even had sown, ice and 29 degrees in the mountains here
near SF Bay. Results posted at -http://www.sonomabirding.org/

Good luck in NYC with your show.  Good chance for a reunion.
may the birds be with you...
Best, tom

Hi folks,

Just wanted to invite you all to the opening of my show of field
recordings and sculptures on Saturday 6-8 at the Kim Foster Gallery,
529 West 20th Street, NY, NY.

The sculptures trace the trajectory of my walkings through space and
the recordings provied the space, itself.  The recording are the most
recent developments of my experiences with M/S recordings two summers
ago in the Sierras.

Be great to see fellow recordists!

Scott Sherk
www.thethirdbarn.org

Hi classmates....
thought you would want to know about this oil spill first hand from
the International Bird Rescue Center of San Francisco Bay. Additional
postings at http://www.sonomabirding.org/


http://intbirdrescue.blogspot.com/2007/11/updated-bird-numbers-804-in-care.html

Best,
Tom Rusert
Outreach Volunteer
International Bird Rescue
Fairfield, CA

Here's one for the books.  Volunteers from Int'l Bird Rescue released
31 White-faced Ibis in Davis, Ca. on Sept 6th and one decided to
return to roost and check things out. A/P  is now circulating the
picture.  Here is the actual article.
http://thereporter.com/news/ci_6826913

cheers, tom rusert, sonoma,ca.

Hi everyone,

Who took that photo of the baby bitterns? Looks a lot like me in the
morning!

Best wishes, Monica

Great to see all the new additions with the Class of 2007! Let us know
where your from in your messages. Also, its best to create new "Album"
for your contributed pics and then label it however you like rather
than posting individual photos to site. Simple click on "album" after
you arrive on the photo link....May the Birds Be With Us!
Cheers,
Tom Rusert, moderator
http://www.sonomabirding.org/

Hello Fellow Recordists,

I wanted to pass along photos that I took while attending the 07
Recording Workshop in the Sierra Valley area.  The diversity of sounds
and the sites we were able to explore were incredible.  I so enjoyed
my time recording that I rarely pulled my camera out! I'll need to
make a separate trip for that ;)

Cheers,
Reneé Mensing-Solick

My pics are at:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1EbtmjZy3Yuvg

Tina's photos are a wonderful addition and should evoke many fond
memories by all who have taken the Sound Recording Workshop.  Thanks
Tina!  --Randy

Hi Everyone -
I finally am sorting photos and trying to find some decent ones. I put
a few in a new photo album.  Please add yours so I can fill in the
blank spots (of which I have many!)  I'd love some more photos....

I haven't gotten equipment yet, so can't say I have even added a thing
to my sound database.  As summer winds down I think I will have time.

Please post recordings you think are good to the "files" area so
others can hear!  I've been watching the "planet earth" DVD series by
BBC, - the tropical forest has an incredible footage and sound of
various species of birds of paradise doing their display.....
something to aspire to.

Tina

Nice pix, Jennifer!  Pleasant reminders of great time with wonderful
people.  --Randy

Hi everyone,

I have posted a few pictures from 2007.  Hope everyone is well -

take care,
Jennifer

Thanks, Adele.  I'm a beginner at this, but I've found that background
sounds are even harder to omit in recording than background clutter is
in photography!  Some of the traffic noise can be edited out with
Raven Lite or the like, but I'm not sure that is much different from
Photoshop manipulation of photos.  Some is just part of life--ours and
the birds'.

Here's the locale:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=15820+van+aken+road,+shaker+hei\
ghts,+ohio&sll=41.467091,-81.569088&sspn=0.011111,0.020084&ie=UTF8&ll=41.467268,\
-81.57104&spn=0.011111,0.020084&t=k&z=16&om=1

The Shaker Rapid (i.e., the "toy trains") run along the same road.

Note the interesting urban park chain along the Doan Brook to the
north.  The lakes were created by Shaker dams in the mid 19th century.
  My wife has done most of her bird photography in those parks.

       David

--- In wildliferecordists@yahoogroups.com, "adelebinning"
<abinning@...> wrote:
>
> Hi David,
>
> I have taken the Cornell course but am part of this year's group and
> so am new to this yahoo group. I was happy to hear your urban
> recordings...I always shy away from recording in my noisy neighborhood
> of St. Paul, MN because of the noise. I realize that the Macaulay
> Library of Natural Sound might not want recordings of freeway noise,
> etc. but I still thought that it was interesting to hear how your
> neighborhood sounded—what birds are there at dusk (I'm assuming
> dusk)and I even enjoyed hearing the Rapid Transit approach. You have
> inspired me to go out and make some recordings despite my lack of a
> pristine sound environment.
>
> As an aside, I never knew how noisy my neighborhood is until I started
> recording!
>
> Thanks.
> Adele Binning
> St. Paul, MN
>
>
>
> --- In wildliferecordists@yahoogroups.com, "David Kazdan"
> <dkazdan@> wrote:
> >
> > I'm not part of the Cornell group, but perhaps people are
> > interested--I posted two .mp3 files of nighthawk calls I recorded.
> > They are from an apartment building rooftop in Shaker Heights, Ohio,
> > about an hour after dusk.  The second is the better recording and
> > includes the wing sound from the bird pulling up after a vertical,
> > wing-folded dive.  The first includes other nighthawks calling, some
> > chimney swifts, and a toot from the Shaker Rapid in the background.
> >
> > Equipment is an Edmund 24" parabola with an electret element suspended
> > at the focus.  The microphone mount and handle are of plumbing PVC.
> > The recorder is a Sony Minidisk unit.  Details of all of it on
> > request.  It was cheap, but I learned more than I knew there was to
> > know about electret microphone elements in the process of building it.
> >  My wife is a serious birder and bird photographer, this project has
> > given me something to do while tagging along after her!
> >
> >      David Kazdan
> >      Cleveland Heights, Ohio
> >
>

Hi David,

I have taken the Cornell course but am part of this year's group and
so am new to this yahoo group. I was happy to hear your urban
recordings...I always shy away from recording in my noisy neighborhood
of St. Paul, MN because of the noise. I realize that the Macaulay
Library of Natural Sound might not want recordings of freeway noise,
etc. but I still thought that it was interesting to hear how your
neighborhood sounded—what birds are there at dusk (I'm assuming
dusk)and I even enjoyed hearing the Rapid Transit approach. You have
inspired me to go out and make some recordings despite my lack of a
pristine sound environment.

As an aside, I never knew how noisy my neighborhood is until I started
recording!

Thanks.
Adele Binning
St. Paul, MN



--- In wildliferecordists@yahoogroups.com, "David Kazdan"
<dkazdan@...> wrote:
>
> I'm not part of the Cornell group, but perhaps people are
> interested--I posted two .mp3 files of nighthawk calls I recorded.
> They are from an apartment building rooftop in Shaker Heights, Ohio,
> about an hour after dusk.  The second is the better recording and
> includes the wing sound from the bird pulling up after a vertical,
> wing-folded dive.  The first includes other nighthawks calling, some
> chimney swifts, and a toot from the Shaker Rapid in the background.
>
> Equipment is an Edmund 24" parabola with an electret element suspended
> at the focus.  The microphone mount and handle are of plumbing PVC.
> The recorder is a Sony Minidisk unit.  Details of all of it on
> request.  It was cheap, but I learned more than I knew there was to
> know about electret microphone elements in the process of building it.
>  My wife is a serious birder and bird photographer, this project has
> given me something to do while tagging along after her!
>
>      David Kazdan
>      Cleveland Heights, Ohio
>

I'm not part of the Cornell group, but perhaps people are
interested--I posted two .mp3 files of nighthawk calls I recorded.
They are from an apartment building rooftop in Shaker Heights, Ohio,
about an hour after dusk.  The second is the better recording and
includes the wing sound from the bird pulling up after a vertical,
wing-folded dive.  The first includes other nighthawks calling, some
chimney swifts, and a toot from the Shaker Rapid in the background.

Equipment is an Edmund 24" parabola with an electret element suspended
at the focus.  The microphone mount and handle are of plumbing PVC.
The recorder is a Sony Minidisk unit.  Details of all of it on
request.  It was cheap, but I learned more than I knew there was to
know about electret microphone elements in the process of building it.
  My wife is a serious birder and bird photographer, this project has
given me something to do while tagging along after her!

      David Kazdan
      Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Just back from Maui. Hello from Wine Country! Glad to see Randy's post
and special invite to our world of Cornell Recordists. We hope the
word about this link gets
out from home base at Cornell to you all. Share your latest in photos,
conversations, stories technology,and class highlights. I wish we
could share the sound of the birds you all recorded as well!
May the Birds Be With Us!

Cheers,
Tom Rusert
Moderator
Sonoma,Ca.

Well beleive it or not but the big guys or at it again. Leslie and
Laurent will meet in March, in Leslie's backyard for a few days of
nature sound recording... and maybe a few shots with their videocam.
Looks like Leslie has a great list of hot spots!


Will keep you posted!

We had a wonderful 'Sonoma Valley Christmas Bird Count' just completed
this weekend. Some 135 birders join in the celebration. This is our
second annual. We are a small fry in the world of old CBC counts...but
inch by inch everything is a cinch. Working results of 163 species are
now posted on http://www.sonomabirding.org/.

Happy New Years to all of you around the world from Wine COuntry...&
may we have peace on earth one of these days!

Cheers, Tom Rusert

Hi Tom,
I have used two techniques with these small mics.  The set-up with
headphones I wear on my head and record while walking (sounds of
crashing) and while standing or sitting very still.  This give a pseudo-
binaural recording that sounds especially three-dimensional when
listened to with headphones.  I also mount them with the Jecklin disc
on a tripod which allows me to walk away.  Using the Jecklin disc makes
a similar recording, but it seems to playback better on speakers
because there is less of a "hole" in the center.  I recently began
mounting the mics in the mesh waterbottle pockets of my bag which makes
me look less like an idiot walking around with mics on his head.

Because the mics are omnis, they pick up sound from all directions
equally.  As we learned from Randy, a hypercardiode mic selects sound
from one of those directions, excluding sound from the others.  The
omni gets it all.  This is great if you are trying to record the
ambience of a place, but not so helpful if you are trying to cleanly
record a call without lots of background sound.  The mics have
unbalanced cables which means that they are suceptible to interference
if they are long, but I've never had this problem.  I soldered up a 25'
cable to get far enough away that I could breath without recording it,
and it works great.

All the recording on this page:

  http://www.thethirdbarn.org/Pages/Scott%20Sherk/sounds/field%
20recording.html

were made with the WL-183 except the Bear Trap Meadows. Incidently I
have some "recording of nothings" that are a part of Das Kleine Field
Recording Festival.  There are some really interesting recording by
folks from all over.  Check it out at:

http://www.factory-berlin.de/das-kleine-field-recordings-festival/


Scott

--- In wildliferecordists@yahoogroups.com, "torusert" <trusert@...>
wrote:
>
> Hi Scott,
> Interesting set up! Helpful picture. Nice portability. What kind of
> mic recording distance can be successfully achieved and is there an
> optimum cable recording distance from where you are positioned?
> Perhaps an example would clarify this.  In class people were setting
> their recording equipment out and moving away from the recorder
> controls.  Is this the same technique you are using?  Cheers, sonoma
tom
>

Hi Scott,
Interesting set up! Helpful picture. Nice portability. What kind of
mic recording distance can be successfully achieved and is there an
optimum cable recording distance from where you are positioned?
Perhaps an example would clarify this.  In class people were setting
their recording equipment out and moving away from the recorder
controls.  Is this the same technique you are using?  Cheers, sonoma tom

Woops. Somehow, I think that last posted message got sent unknowingly.
In late summer, I received the Telinga Stereo Dat mic/with parabolic
dish/pro-5 handle as well as a small phantom power box that is made by
Telinga and has a mini-1/8" jack to plug into my Sony mini disc
recorder. I had it out in the field within hours of receiving it and
was completely BLOWN AWAY with the incredible, sharp, clear signals I
was recieving and immediately was aware of how low I could keep my
gain and recieve a strong signal as compared to mics i was using at
the course. I didn't need to get right ontop of the birds in order to
get a bright recording.I also was aware of the extra sensitivity of
the mic and that I needed to be more conscious about even the
slightest finger movement while gripping the handle, as well as
stomach growling, excessive breathing, throat clearing etc. Most of my
subjects at that time were the calls of juvenile begging birds as well
as the occasional male territorial outburst, but the majority of
singing had subsided by late August.
Some of the highlights were an excellent recording of six different
neotropical species as well as four resident species of birds mobbing
a Spotted owl at daybreak,several different recordings of a variety of
species in varied habitats, and bizarre recordings of ravens and
Screech Owls. My most favorite subjects now are coyotes, and I have
have no shame in taking off running at two o'clock in the morning and
wearing nothing but boxers and a parabolic dish chasing packs of
howling coyotes through moonlit filled meadows seeking that perfect
recording. Luckily, I haven't run into anyone yet while doing this!I
shouls remind you all that i live in an exceptionally rural location.
This wasn't performed in suburbia!
   A week ago, I just received a bracket made by Telinga that mounts
onto a tripod in order to reduce handling noise which is almost
impossible with my experience, especially for longer extended
recordings which inevitably pick up unwanted noises. I didn't really
have that problem with other mics while at the course except for when
I really blew it, so this is a consideration when purchasing this mic.
The pay-off, is outstanding power, and clarity, if you can hold it
without breathing too loudly or moving a finger. The tripod bracket is
well made and easily can be removed without needing to unscrew
anything for those moments when one needs to have more direct control
over the mic.
   Overall, I would rate it as the best mic I have used thus far and my
only concern would be that the Telinga Stereo Dat mic is almost too
bright in some situations, almost harsh seeming for specific species
of birds that are very high pitched or exceptionally loud. I have
found that many of the recordings can be of higher quality without
getting too close. I have also found that the stereo affect of the mic
  means that you have to be right on the money with your subject or
else surrounding birds or sounds may dominate the recording. In most
cases this isn't a problem but in Spring when the singing is more
concentrated, it may be. I should also add that the mic can easily be
removed from the dish and used for ambient recordings as well. I have
only done this twice and I was pleased with the results but I haven't
used any other stereo mics to compare it to.
  I think that's about it. A somewhat scattered review while trying to
field a continuous stream of questions and stories from my lovely nine
year old daughter while writing this. Best of luck to you all and
happy recording.             Kyle

----- Original Message -----

From: Tom Terleph

To: wildliferecordists@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Sunday, November 19, 2006 9:02 AM

Subject: Re: [wildliferecordists] parabola

Thanks Kyle,
I will go through Stith. Do you have any advice on inexpensive stereo mic purchases?
Tom

owlsperch <owlsperch@asis.com> wrote:

Hi Tom. Recording the distress calls of netted birds sounds very interesting. As far as your Telinga Universal dish purchase, I reccomend going through Maurice Stith. Telinga was terrible with me as well. Dealing with Klaus through Nature Songs (I think it's called) was absolutely terrible when buying my Telinga Stereo Dat mic/dish. The main lady at Stith recording (Kathy?), has been incredibly responsive, sometimes within fifteen minutes or less via a phone call or email. Either way you may have to wait a few months to receive one since the demand for them seems to exceed the stock. I do LOVE my Telinga set-up though and soon I will do a write up on it for the recordist site to explain it's pro's and cons.     Best of luck.

                                                                                  Kyle

----- Original Message -----

From: Tom Terleph

To: wildliferecordists@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Friday, November 17, 2006 12:05 PM                            

Subject: [wildliferecordists] parabola

Hello all,

Hope you have had good birding/recording since last summer. I have been doing some pilot recordings with a sennheiser me66 and the microtrack m-audio recorder...lots of fun. Another Biologist in my department is a bird bander, so I have gone out with her when she nets and gotten interesting distress calls as the birds are being removed from the net.

I want to buy a telinga universal parabola, but the good people at telinga aren't very helpful. I have e-mailed them twice asking for a price quote, and they don't respond. Does anybody know of a telinga supplier, so I won't have to deal directly with them? Or do you know of any good, alternative parabolas?

Thanks alot,

Tom T (the other Tom)

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Hi Tom. Recording the distress calls of netted birds sounds very interesting. As far as your Telinga Universal dish purchase, I reccomend going through Maurice Stith. Telinga was terrible with me as well. Dealing with Klaus through Nature Songs (I think it's called) was absolutely terrible when buying my Telinga Stereo Dat mic/dish. The main lady at Stith recording (Kathy?), has been incredibly responsive, sometimes within fifteen minutes or less via a phone call or email. Either way you may have to wait a few months to receive one since the demand for them seems to exceed the stock. I do LOVE my Telinga set-up though and soon I will do a write up on it for the recordist site to explain it's pro's and cons.     Best of luck.

                                                                                  Kyle

----- Original Message -----

From: Tom Terleph

To: wildliferecordists@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Friday, November 17, 2006 12:05 PM                            

Subject: [wildliferecordists] parabola

Hello all,

Hope you have had good birding/recording since last summer. I have been doing some pilot recordings with a sennheiser me66 and the microtrack m-audio recorder...lots of fun. Another Biologist in my department is a bird bander, so I have gone out with her when she nets and gotten interesting distress calls as the birds are being removed from the net.

I want to buy a telinga universal parabola, but the good people at telinga aren't very helpful. I have e-mailed them twice asking for a price quote, and they don't respond. Does anybody know of a telinga supplier, so I won't have to deal directly with them? Or do you know of any good, alternative parabolas?

Thanks alot,

Tom T (the other Tom)

---

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----- Original Message -----

From: Tom Terleph

To: wildliferecordists@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Friday, November 17, 2006 12:05 PM                            

Subject: [wildliferecordists] parabola

Hello all,

Hope you have had good birding/recording since last summer. I have been doing some pilot recordings with a sennheiser me66 and the microtrack m-audio recorder...lots of fun. Another Biologist in my department is a bird bander, so I have gone out with her when she nets and gotten interesting distress calls as the birds are being removed from the net.

I want to buy a telinga universal parabola, but the good people at telinga aren't very helpful. I have e-mailed them twice asking for a price quote, and they don't respond. Does anybody know of a telinga supplier, so I won't have to deal directly with them? Or do you know of any good, alternative parabolas?

Thanks alot,

Tom T (the other Tom)

---

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The season of migration and Christmas birding is here.  Check out your
local CBC or come out to Sonoma and join us!
http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/history.html

2nd  Annual Sonoma Valley Christmas Bird Count - Friday, Dec. 29, 2006
The spectacular birding circle includes the Valley of the Moon,
Petaluma, Sonoma and Napa Wetlands including two estuaries and two
mountain ranges. Everyone is most welcomed! Citizen Science at its
best! For more information visit - www.sonomabirding.org or phone
707-939-8007. Cost $5.00 per person.

Cheers, tom

Hi Tom,

When I bought my Telinga Pro I used Stith Recording.  They were really great.  There email address is:

info@stithrecording.com

Hope this helps. 

sara

On Nov 17, 2006, at 3:05 PM, Tom Terleph wrote:

Hello all,

Hope you have had good birding/recording since last summer. I have been doing some pilot recordings with a sennheiser me66 and the microtrack m-audio recorder...lots of fun. Another Biologist in my department is a bird bander, so I have gone out with her when she nets and gotten interesting distress calls as the birds are being removed from the net.

I want to buy a telinga universal parabola, but the good people at telinga aren't very helpful. I have e-mailed them twice asking for a price quote, and they don't respond. Does anybody know of a telinga supplier, so I won't have to deal directly with them? Or do you know of any good, alternative parabolas?

Thanks alot,

Tom T (the other Tom)

---

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----

Sara DeLeon

Graduate Student

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

159 Sapsucker Woods Road

Ithaca, NY 14850

607-254-2169

Hello all,

I just acquired a used Sony parabolic reflector, model PBR-400. I
wondered if anyone has any experience using this model, and if there
are any tips/tricks/idiosyncrasies I should know about.

As far as putting it together and making use of it, it seems pretty
easy to make out, but if anyone has an old manual lurking around I
would be interested in having a look (please feel free to contact me
off list for this if you think that is more appropriate).

I'm really pleased with it so far - when you've been recording by just
holding up a tiny voice recorder in the general direction of the sound
you want to capture and hoping for not *too much* airplane noise,
etc., the improved directionality is just a wonderful thing.  I think
my eyes bugged out of my head the first time I heard the difference.

Cheers,
Karen