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Put your hands on the remote! browse music »Bird Songs of the Scottish Highlands and Islands by John Neville
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143 tracks | 110 minutes
Released Aug 2007
on Neville Recording
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- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:38 Introduction BUY MP3 00:38 Introduction "GIFT MP3" 00:38 Introduction
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:27 January through April BUY MP3 00:27 January through April "GIFT MP3" 00:27 January through April
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:54 Dipper BUY MP3 00:54 Dipper "GIFT MP3" 00:54 Dipper
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:54 Golden Plover flock BUY MP3 00:54 Golden Plover flock "GIFT MP3" 00:54 Golden Plover flock
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:06 Oystercatcher BUY MP3 01:06 Oystercatcher "GIFT MP3" 01:06 Oystercatcher
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:10 Twite BUY MP3 01:10 Twite "GIFT MP3" 01:10 Twite
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:28 Grey Heron BUY MP3 00:28 Grey Heron "GIFT MP3" 00:28 Grey Heron
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:10 Mistle Thrush BUY MP3 01:10 Mistle Thrush "GIFT MP3" 01:10 Mistle Thrush
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:26 Song Thrush BUY MP3 01:26 Song Thrush "GIFT MP3" 01:26 Song Thrush
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:46 Peregrine Courtship BUY MP3 00:46 Peregrine Courtship "GIFT MP3" 00:46 Peregrine Courtship
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:07 Fieldfare BUY MP3 01:07 Fieldfare "GIFT MP3" 01:07 Fieldfare
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:10 Redwing BUY MP3 01:10 Redwing "GIFT MP3" 01:10 Redwing
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:38 Great Spotted Woodpecker BUY MP3 00:38 Great Spotted Woodpecker "GIFT MP3" 00:38 Great Spotted Woodpecker
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:02 Fox, vixen and cubs BUY MP3 01:02 Fox, vixen and cubs "GIFT MP3" 01:02 Fox, vixen and cubs
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:17 Buildings, Parks and Gardens, May and June BUY MP3 00:17 Buildings, Parks and Gardens, May and June "GIFT MP3" 00:17 Buildings, Parks and Gardens, May and June
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:26 House Sparrow BUY MP3 00:26 House Sparrow "GIFT MP3" 00:26 House Sparrow
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:37 House Martin BUY MP3 00:37 House Martin "GIFT MP3" 00:37 House Martin
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:56 Swift BUY MP3 00:56 Swift "GIFT MP3" 00:56 Swift
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:39 Dunnock BUY MP3 00:39 Dunnock "GIFT MP3" 00:39 Dunnock
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:32 Rock Dove BUY MP3 00:32 Rock Dove "GIFT MP3" 00:32 Rock Dove
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:44 Collared Dove BUY MP3 00:44 Collared Dove "GIFT MP3" 00:44 Collared Dove
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:41 Blue Tit BUY MP3 00:41 Blue Tit "GIFT MP3" 00:41 Blue Tit
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:04 Great Tit BUY MP3 01:04 Great Tit "GIFT MP3" 01:04 Great Tit
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:41 Coal Tit BUY MP3 00:41 Coal Tit "GIFT MP3" 00:41 Coal Tit
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:56 Chaffinch BUY MP3 00:56 Chaffinch "GIFT MP3" 00:56 Chaffinch
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:59 Robin BUY MP3 00:59 Robin "GIFT MP3" 00:59 Robin
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:04 Blackbird BUY MP3 01:04 Blackbird "GIFT MP3" 01:04 Blackbird
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:33 Willow Warbler BUY MP3 00:33 Willow Warbler "GIFT MP3" 00:33 Willow Warbler
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:45 Rook BUY MP3 00:45 Rook "GIFT MP3" 00:45 Rook
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:19 Farmland BUY MP3 00:19 Farmland "GIFT MP3" 00:19 Farmland
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:56 Greenfinch BUY MP3 00:56 Greenfinch "GIFT MP3" 00:56 Greenfinch
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:31 Yellowhammer BUY MP3 00:31 Yellowhammer "GIFT MP3" 00:31 Yellowhammer
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:40 Corncrake BUY MP3 00:40 Corncrake "GIFT MP3" 00:40 Corncrake
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:28 Pheaswant BUY MP3 00:28 Pheaswant "GIFT MP3" 00:28 Pheaswant
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:46 Starling BUY MP3 00:46 Starling "GIFT MP3" 00:46 Starling
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:43 Pied Wagtail BUY MP3 00:43 Pied Wagtail "GIFT MP3" 00:43 Pied Wagtail
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:51 Barn Owl BUY MP3 00:51 Barn Owl "GIFT MP3" 00:51 Barn Owl
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:41 Swallow BUY MP3 00:41 Swallow "GIFT MP3" 00:41 Swallow
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:38 Jackdaw BUY MP3 00:38 Jackdaw "GIFT MP3" 00:38 Jackdaw
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:39 Hooded Crow BUY MP3 00:39 Hooded Crow "GIFT MP3" 00:39 Hooded Crow
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:33 Chough BUY MP3 00:33 Chough "GIFT MP3" 00:33 Chough
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:40 Raven BUY MP3 00:40 Raven "GIFT MP3" 00:40 Raven
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:58 Woodpigeon BUY MP3 00:58 Woodpigeon "GIFT MP3" 00:58 Woodpigeon
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:19 Woodland BUY MP3 00:19 Woodland "GIFT MP3" 00:19 Woodland
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:00 Grey Heronry BUY MP3 01:00 Grey Heronry "GIFT MP3" 01:00 Grey Heronry
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:41 Tawny Owlet BUY MP3 00:41 Tawny Owlet "GIFT MP3" 00:41 Tawny Owlet
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:29 Cuckoo BUY MP3 00:29 Cuckoo "GIFT MP3" 00:29 Cuckoo
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:34 Redstart BUY MP3 00:34 Redstart "GIFT MP3" 00:34 Redstart
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:35 Goldfinch BUY MP3 00:35 Goldfinch "GIFT MP3" 00:35 Goldfinch
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:45 Treecreeper BUY MP3 00:45 Treecreeper "GIFT MP3" 00:45 Treecreeper
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:41 Blackcap BUY MP3 00:41 Blackcap "GIFT MP3" 00:41 Blackcap
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:47 Garden Warbler BUY MP3 00:47 Garden Warbler "GIFT MP3" 00:47 Garden Warbler
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:01 Wood Warbler BUY MP3 01:01 Wood Warbler "GIFT MP3" 01:01 Wood Warbler
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:38 Wren BUY MP3 00:38 Wren "GIFT MP3" 00:38 Wren
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:18 Sparrowhawk & Kestrel BUY MP3 01:18 Sparrowhawk & Kestrel "GIFT MP3" 01:18 Sparrowhawk & Kestrel
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:37 Crested Tit BUY MP3 00:37 Crested Tit "GIFT MP3" 00:37 Crested Tit
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:34 Goldcrest BUY MP3 00:34 Goldcrest "GIFT MP3" 00:34 Goldcrest
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:39 Crossbill BUY MP3 00:39 Crossbill "GIFT MP3" 00:39 Crossbill
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:12 Tree Pipit BUY MP3 01:12 Tree Pipit "GIFT MP3" 01:12 Tree Pipit
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:46 Long-eared Owl BUY MP3 00:46 Long-eared Owl "GIFT MP3" 00:46 Long-eared Owl
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:02 Buzzard BUY MP3 01:02 Buzzard "GIFT MP3" 01:02 Buzzard
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:02 Honey Buzzard BUY MP3 01:02 Honey Buzzard "GIFT MP3" 01:02 Honey Buzzard
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:35 Woodcock BUY MP3 00:35 Woodcock "GIFT MP3" 00:35 Woodcock
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:30 Roe Deer BUY MP3 00:30 Roe Deer "GIFT MP3" 00:30 Roe Deer
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:36 Uplands BUY MP3 00:36 Uplands "GIFT MP3" 00:36 Uplands
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:29 Arctic Skua BUY MP3 00:29 Arctic Skua "GIFT MP3" 00:29 Arctic Skua
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:58 Great Skua BUY MP3 00:58 Great Skua "GIFT MP3" 00:58 Great Skua
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:40 Red Grouse BUY MP3 00:40 Red Grouse "GIFT MP3" 00:40 Red Grouse
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:55 Golden Plover BUY MP3 00:55 Golden Plover "GIFT MP3" 00:55 Golden Plover
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:35 Short-eared Owl BUY MP3 00:35 Short-eared Owl "GIFT MP3" 00:35 Short-eared Owl
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:57 Hen Harrier BUY MP3 00:57 Hen Harrier "GIFT MP3" 00:57 Hen Harrier
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:54 Sonechat BUY MP3 00:54 Sonechat "GIFT MP3" 00:54 Sonechat
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:08 Whinchat BUY MP3 01:08 Whinchat "GIFT MP3" 01:08 Whinchat
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:50 Wheatear BUY MP3 00:50 Wheatear "GIFT MP3" 00:50 Wheatear
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:58 Linnet BUY MP3 00:58 Linnet "GIFT MP3" 00:58 Linnet
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:49 Black Grouse lek BUY MP3 00:49 Black Grouse lek "GIFT MP3" 00:49 Black Grouse lek
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:49 Capercaillie BUY MP3 00:49 Capercaillie "GIFT MP3" 00:49 Capercaillie
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:03 Curlew BUY MP3 01:03 Curlew "GIFT MP3" 01:03 Curlew
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:37 Lapwing BUY MP3 00:37 Lapwing "GIFT MP3" 00:37 Lapwing
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:15 Skylark BUY MP3 01:15 Skylark "GIFT MP3" 01:15 Skylark
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:37 Meadow Pipit BUY MP3 00:37 Meadow Pipit "GIFT MP3" 00:37 Meadow Pipit
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:43 Dotterel BUY MP3 00:43 Dotterel "GIFT MP3" 00:43 Dotterel
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:42 Ring Ouzel BUY MP3 00:42 Ring Ouzel "GIFT MP3" 00:42 Ring Ouzel
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:37 Snow Bunting BUY MP3 00:37 Snow Bunting "GIFT MP3" 00:37 Snow Bunting
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:03 Ptarmigan BUY MP3 01:03 Ptarmigan "GIFT MP3" 01:03 Ptarmigan
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:30 Golden Eagle BUY MP3 00:30 Golden Eagle "GIFT MP3" 00:30 Golden Eagle
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:16 Freshwater Lochs and Fens BUY MP3 00:16 Freshwater Lochs and Fens "GIFT MP3" 00:16 Freshwater Lochs and Fens
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 02:10 Osprey BUY MP3 02:10 Osprey "GIFT MP3" 02:10 Osprey
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:19 Black-throated Diver BUY MP3 01:19 Black-throated Diver "GIFT MP3" 01:19 Black-throated Diver
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:23 Red-throated Diver BUY MP3 01:23 Red-throated Diver "GIFT MP3" 01:23 Red-throated Diver
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:38 Greylag Goose BUY MP3 00:38 Greylag Goose "GIFT MP3" 00:38 Greylag Goose
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:07 Mallard BUY MP3 01:07 Mallard "GIFT MP3" 01:07 Mallard
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:47 Teal BUY MP3 00:47 Teal "GIFT MP3" 00:47 Teal
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:46 Grasshopper Warbler BUY MP3 00:46 Grasshopper Warbler "GIFT MP3" 00:46 Grasshopper Warbler
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:53 Sedge Warbler BUY MP3 00:53 Sedge Warbler "GIFT MP3" 00:53 Sedge Warbler
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:44 Reed Bunting BUY MP3 00:44 Reed Bunting "GIFT MP3" 00:44 Reed Bunting
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:07 Redshank BUY MP3 01:07 Redshank "GIFT MP3" 01:07 Redshank
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:30 Snipe BUY MP3 00:30 Snipe "GIFT MP3" 00:30 Snipe
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:58 Grey Wagtail BUY MP3 00:58 Grey Wagtail "GIFT MP3" 00:58 Grey Wagtail
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:24 Coastal Habitat BUY MP3 00:24 Coastal Habitat "GIFT MP3" 00:24 Coastal Habitat
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:54 Oystercatcher BUY MP3 00:54 Oystercatcher "GIFT MP3" 00:54 Oystercatcher
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:30 Common Sandpiper BUY MP3 00:30 Common Sandpiper "GIFT MP3" 00:30 Common Sandpiper
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:29 Ringed Plover BUY MP3 00:29 Ringed Plover "GIFT MP3" 00:29 Ringed Plover
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:49 Rock Pipit BUY MP3 00:49 Rock Pipit "GIFT MP3" 00:49 Rock Pipit
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:48 Arctic Tern BUY MP3 00:48 Arctic Tern "GIFT MP3" 00:48 Arctic Tern
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:29 Common Seal BUY MP3 00:29 Common Seal "GIFT MP3" 00:29 Common Seal
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:42 Eider BUY MP3 00:42 Eider "GIFT MP3" 00:42 Eider
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:46 Mute Swan BUY MP3 00:46 Mute Swan "GIFT MP3" 00:46 Mute Swan
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:54 Shelduck BUY MP3 00:54 Shelduck "GIFT MP3" 00:54 Shelduck
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:11 Cliffs BUY MP3 00:11 Cliffs "GIFT MP3" 00:11 Cliffs
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:56 Herring Gull BUY MP3 00:56 Herring Gull "GIFT MP3" 00:56 Herring Gull
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:37 Great Black-backed Gull BUY MP3 00:37 Great Black-backed Gull "GIFT MP3" 00:37 Great Black-backed Gull
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:38 Lesser Black-backed Gull BUY MP3 00:38 Lesser Black-backed Gull "GIFT MP3" 00:38 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:44 Black-headed Gull BUY MP3 00:44 Black-headed Gull "GIFT MP3" 00:44 Black-headed Gull
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:41 Common Gull BUY MP3 00:41 Common Gull "GIFT MP3" 00:41 Common Gull
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:16 Kittiwake BUY MP3 01:16 Kittiwake "GIFT MP3" 01:16 Kittiwake
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:53 Fulmar BUY MP3 00:53 Fulmar "GIFT MP3" 00:53 Fulmar
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:40 Puffin BUY MP3 00:40 Puffin "GIFT MP3" 00:40 Puffin
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:33 Manx Shearwater BUY MP3 00:33 Manx Shearwater "GIFT MP3" 00:33 Manx Shearwater
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:47 Shag BUY MP3 00:47 Shag "GIFT MP3" 00:47 Shag
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:55 Razorbill BUY MP3 00:55 Razorbill "GIFT MP3" 00:55 Razorbill
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:32 Guillemot BUY MP3 00:32 Guillemot "GIFT MP3" 00:32 Guillemot
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:34 Gannet BUY MP3 00:34 Gannet "GIFT MP3" 00:34 Gannet
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:51 Peregrine BUY MP3 00:51 Peregrine "GIFT MP3" 00:51 Peregrine
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:53 White-tailed Eagle BUY MP3 00:53 White-tailed Eagle "GIFT MP3" 00:53 White-tailed Eagle
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:12 September through December BUY MP3 00:12 September through December "GIFT MP3" 00:12 September through December
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:32 Curlew Flock BUY MP3 00:32 Curlew Flock "GIFT MP3" 00:32 Curlew Flock
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:50 Lapwing Flock BUY MP3 00:50 Lapwing Flock "GIFT MP3" 00:50 Lapwing Flock
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:42 Oystercatcher Roost BUY MP3 00:42 Oystercatcher Roost "GIFT MP3" 00:42 Oystercatcher Roost
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:58 Red Deer Stag BUY MP3 00:58 Red Deer Stag "GIFT MP3" 00:58 Red Deer Stag
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:44 Pheasant Roost BUY MP3 00:44 Pheasant Roost "GIFT MP3" 00:44 Pheasant Roost
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 01:02 Geese Migrating BUY MP3 01:02 Geese Migrating "GIFT MP3" 01:02 Geese Migrating
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:40 Whooper Swan BUY MP3 00:40 Whooper Swan "GIFT MP3" 00:40 Whooper Swan
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:51 Bewick's Swan BUY MP3 00:51 Bewick's Swan "GIFT MP3" 00:51 Bewick's Swan
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:45 Mute Swan BUY MP3 00:45 Mute Swan "GIFT MP3" 00:45 Mute Swan
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:43 Barnacle Goose Flock BUY MP3 00:43 Barnacle Goose Flock "GIFT MP3" 00:43 Barnacle Goose Flock
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:48 Greylag Goose Flock BUY MP3 00:48 Greylag Goose Flock "GIFT MP3" 00:48 Greylag Goose Flock
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:50 Pink-footed Goose Flock BUY MP3 00:50 Pink-footed Goose Flock "GIFT MP3" 00:50 Pink-footed Goose Flock
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:38 White-fronted Goose Flock BUY MP3 00:38 White-fronted Goose Flock "GIFT MP3" 00:38 White-fronted Goose Flock
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:30 Wigeon BUY MP3 00:30 Wigeon "GIFT MP3" 00:30 Wigeon
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:35 Goldeneye BUY MP3 00:35 Goldeneye "GIFT MP3" 00:35 Goldeneye
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:42 Long-tailed Duck BUY MP3 00:42 Long-tailed Duck "GIFT MP3" 00:42 Long-tailed Duck
- sample "DOWNLOAD" 00:58 Tawny Owl BUY MP3 00:58 Tawny Owl "GIFT MP3" 00:58 Tawny Owl
Awesome deal! When you buy this album for $8.88 you get 143 tracks for less than $0.06 each
Awesome deal! When you buy this album for $7.77 you get 143 tracks for less than $0.05 each
2CD's Beautifully crafted natural sounds of the birds of the Scottish Highlands and Islands--Listen to some excerpts.
Bio / Background
Review from Wildlife Sound
The Journal of the Wildlife Sound Recording Society
Volume 11 No 1 Spring 2007
BIRD SONGS OF THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS and ISLANDS
A double audio CD album from John Neville;
cover painting by Robert Bateman
ISBN 0-9781797-1-4
Available from www.nevillerecording.com
John Neville released his first CD in 1994 and is now a seasoned publisher. The ‘Neville Recording’label is well established and this latest album is their eleventh title; the list includes one book, reviewed in a previous Journal issue. However, it is not exactly ‘business as usual’, and this album marks a new departure. Most of John’s previous work was recorded in Western Canada, but in spring 2005, the team crossed a few time zones for their annual expedition and toured Scotland.
Although I am anglicised, Scotland just happens to be my native land and I was quite nostalgic as I listened to John introducing the tracks.
↓ more ↓I know the birds and the locations from previous visits, so I can write these notes with some confidence. This ambitious album is not short on content, covering most of the Scottish breeding birds and winter visitors. The numerous tracks feature all the important species and our favourite songsters.Obviously, it would take a lifetime to record them all successfully and a veritable ‘mission impossible’ for a visitor on a short tour. Accordingly John enlisted the help of British recordists, to do justice to his title, and naturally he turned to WSRS members for the requisite recordings; our esprit de corps lives on!
Our Journal Editor, Simon Elliott contributed themost, and other WSRS members listed in the credits include Derek McGinn, Chris Watson and Kyle Turner. I think they can all be correctly described as celebrity guest recordists, and in recognition of their achievements:
“This CD is dedicated to Robert Bateman and Simon Elliott. Both have contributed enormously to our understanding and appreciation of ornithology.”
John sticks to his customary format, using ‘voiceovers’ to introduce the tracks and I do find this approach more ‘user-friendly’ than trying to follow a printed track list. The announcements are short‘vignettes’ of the subjects, read by John in his inimical style and the balance between the parts is about right. Most tracks are ‘dual mono’ format and a few sound like ‘reflector stereo’. The audio quality is good throughout with the local people supplying the ‘difficult’ recordings and I am not exaggerating when I write that many of the featured clips are the best available anywhere.
Now as we all know, Scotland is no pastoral idyll; it lies in the path of the North Atlantic weather systems and is notorious for changeable conditions. Accordingly, we hear plenty of convincing backgrounds of roaring surf, sea wash,running water and wind for that authentic ‘room tone’,doubtless tamed in the studio by Traz Damji,the sound engineer. I was defeated by the elements on my last visit and I recollect a boyhood holiday in the Hebrides when the cups blew off the anemometer!
The numerous tracks present quite an assortment of subjects. All the common species are covered,as you would expect, and just because they are common does not mean they are unimportant. I never tire of hearing good recordings of our favourite waders on their breeding grounds; birds such as Curlew, Lapwing, Snipe and Golden Plover are always good value and their exciting sounds are evocative of the moors and uplands.
Like any other location, Scotland hosts its specialities and for obvious reasons, most of the‘challenging’ recordings were supplied by the WSRS members already named. Nevertheless,John made many fine recordings himself and I can mention his Barn Owls on Islay and the Wheatear singing at Durness. The‘grating’Ptarmigan was particularly good, and other notables include both breeding divers, Snipe, Arctic Terns, Fulmar and Long-tailed Duck, known as Old Squaw in North America. Readers will know that Simon Elliott specialises in recording raptors at the nest and his ‘close miking’ technique delivers unrivalled audio quality, not to mention new material for the science of bio-acoustics. Good marks for both technical merit and artistic impression! Raptor species from Simon in this album include Peregrine, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Buzzard, Honey Buzzard, Golden Eagle and Osprey, plus a couple of owls. Incidentally, I have not personally heard Short-eared Owls, ‘live’ on their breeding ground and I particularly liked the female’s husky, barking call on CD#2, Track 6. Of course, Simon is an all-rounder and not limited to raptors and contributed many of the other connoisseurs’ recordings, too numerous to mention individually.
Local knowledge is useful and Scotland is the ‘happy hunting ground’ of Derek McGinn, who is resident in the Highlands. During a lengthy career, he has been able to take advantage of good conditions and exploit the recording potential of the region. He has tracked down the elusive species and supplied many of the ‘trophy’ recordings from the remote sites. He contributed samples of Dotterel and Snow Bunting on the high tops and seabirds such as Gannets and Manx Shearwaters on their inaccessible island colonies. I enjoyed his ‘rookooing’ Black Grouse at lek, and the bubbling chorus was all the better for being in stereo. Chris Watson weighed in with rare recordings of Razorbill, Hen Harrier and White-tailed Eagle, while Kyle Turner supplied the Vixen & cubs plus the Pheasant roost; all handpicked samples of seriously good quality.
We generally agree that routine wildlife recordings are a bit light on bass. Our parabolas colour the sound by acting as de facto frequency filters and further south, we feel obliged to filter our raw material to neutralise ‘Home Counties static’ and traffic roar. So it made a refreshing change to hear the roar of the surf and some interesting sounds in the lower register. My trusty headphones do not generate a heavy bass response, but they are more revealing than speakers and I enjoyed tracks such as the Rock Dove (LE), Cuckoo (JN), Shag (SE), Razorbills (CW), Gannets (DmcG) and the sonorous roaring of Red Deer (SE). Presumably, not the audiophile’s choice, but I thought John’s Fulmars on Handa were good guttural low frequency sounds, set against a convincing sea.
We are familiar with recordings of the noisy Grey Seal Halichoerus grypus and indeed this species is a regular target for our microphones. Conversely, we seldom hear the Common (Harbour) Seal Phoca vitulina, one of the quieter Pinnipeds. Admittedly, John’s sample, recorded at Port Ellen, will not impress the music lovers among us, but it will please the naturalists and I was certainly interested to hear it. The atmospheric whistling of the drake Wigeon is an exciting wild sound and is justifiably a popular subject, but does the example illustrate true ‘duetting’? Listening to Simon’s recording on CD#2 Track 76, it does seem that the timing of the drake’s glissando whistle is synchronised with the preceding purring note from the female. I know of other British species that seem to synchronise in this way including the Long-eared Owl and Chaffinch, but that is another story….
Territorial song is one aspect of our interest, but soundscapes change with the seasons and how very different birds sound en masse! We hear the cacophony from the great seabird colonies and the flocks of wildfowl and waders that animate the winter scene. Novice naturalists will learn to identify these sounds, while old hands are transported to all those wild and exciting locations. Magic!
Congratulations are in order for another successful publication. Clearly,a lot of work has gone into this ambitious new title, which maintains John’s usual high standard. It will certainly enhance the good reputation of Neville Recording. The album has an intrinsic educational value, being both informative and entertaining. It offers more than routine documentary recordings and enthusiasts will be pleased with the quality of the rare samples. I was quite nostalgic as I listened, reminded of past adventures in wild and remote places. So, whatever next? More globetrotting or perhaps another book? Clearly, John is a natural raconteur and I would encourage him to continue recording and writing. Either way, we can be sure that he will not rest on his laurels and there will be more to come from Neville Recording. Keep up the good work!
Gordon Edgar
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