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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In this episode, Wild Bird Acoustic's is delighted to welcome a well known Swedish birding and field recording figure, Mr. Teet Sirotikin, for an extensive interview. In this episode, Teet talks about his sound recording journey and shares some quite incredible audio from many parts of Sweden. Furthermore, we journey to the Baltic States, into Latvia and Lithuania and listen to some incredible recordings and soundscapes, in areas rich in phenomenal birdlife.

Join me here with Teet as we discuss his personal voyage into the world of field recording birds, as he shares some simply remarkable recordings from the past couple of decades. Some of the species here include some of the most sought after European bird species. In short, this is a very special episode, which you will not want to miss...

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