David Monacchi: “Fragments of Extinction”, the sounds of vanishing nature
With the prospect of mass extinction in the news, it seems a good time to reflect on the loss of soundscapes. In Ireland, the corncrake and the curlew were once…
Tag: birdlistening
“Curlew Call”, Peter Bagshaw
The call of the curlew is its best known feature – indeed, the potential disappearance of this sound from the soundscape of the countryside is one of the most potent…
Snipe and Woodcock at 33⅓ RPM: Listen The Birds 8 / Hoor De Vogels 8
I came across this birdsong album in my family home lately. As will become clear, I can’t find out much about it online, but I felt that the aesthetic of…
Happy International Day for Biological Diversity!
The UN, no less, have declared 22nd May to be International Day for Biological Diversity! Normally I am pretty sceptical of these kinds of “official” days for this and that. However, they…
Coots
For some reason I perceived coots as rather timid, retiring birds. Bird guides frequently describe birds as “shy” (or “not shy”, or “not that shy”) and while there is an…
From “Birdwatching With Your Eyes Closed: An Introduction to Birdsong” Simon Barnes
Silence is rarely pure. You can hear real silence sometimes deep in a cave – when, if you stop talking, the sound of nothing comes as a physical shock. But…
Séamus Sweeney 