Once I was trying to record autumn calls of Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus on Berlenga, when I noticed a brilliant meteor crossing the eastern sky, the brightest I had ever seen. About four minutes later I was still sitting at the same point, listening through my headphones, when I heard (and recorded) a resonant boom. It sounded so deep and muffled that it must have come from a very long distance away. If it was the meteor, then the four minute delay for the sound to arrive corresponds to a distance of 81 km. According to Wikipedia, meteors usually disintegrate (or sometimes explode) when around 50 km up in the sky. Using Pythagoras’s theorem, that would put ‘sky zero’ 64 km to the east. My four minutes were probably only accurate to within 30 seconds or so, but the accuracy of the calculations is not important. All I want to show is that sound-recording meteors while owling may not be as far-fetched as it sounds.
Presumed meteor exploding, Berlenga, Leiria, Portugal, 23:28, 27 September 2011. 110927.MR.232808.02
I’ll never forget the Eurasian Lynx Lynx lynx Håkan and I encountered during one of our evening forays into the Swedish woods. At dusk, when we were checking several ‘owl meadows’ deep within the woods of northern Uppland, when a Lynx crossed the track some 60m in front of our car. It paused and looked straight at us, then carried on towards a clearing where we caught up and had another brief view. This was only Håkan’s third Lynx in 60 years of birding, so I was incredibly lucky to share it.
We had less luck when it came to owls on that trip, because there had been a severe crash in the vole population. Unusually, the Ural Owls Strix uralensis were not responding to Håkan’s mimicry. After several hours of trying our luck in various hotspots, we gave up, and decided to sleep in the car for a few hours. Since we were still at a Ural Owl site, I decided to leave my equipment recording outside while I slept. One of the surprise results of that recording became CD3-73 of Undiscovered owls: a female Lapland Owl S lapponica. Wildfowl and waders were migrating overhead, and there was a lot of mammal activity too, especially Red Foxes Vulpes vulpes and Roe Deer Capriolus capriolus. Later, it was a real pleasure to go through the recordings.
At one point some rather grainy-sounding growls made an appearance, often doubled. To me they suggested a fairly large carnivore, probably a Lynx. Supporting my theory, they caused a Roe Deer to go ‘bananas’. The recording is worth listening to in its entirety, so chill out! The first growl comes after 2 seconds, the next two after 15, and there are many more. There is also a Fox calling, and you can hear Whooper Swans Cygnus cygnus in the distance. The Roe Deer starts calling from 0:48, and is most frightened around 1:50. Meanwhile, some Eurasian Curlews Numenius arquata approach, migrating overhead between about 2:00 and 2:30.
It would be wonderful if somebody hearing this recording could tell me, “Yes that was definitely a Lynx.” However, if can be identified as something else then I would love to know that too.
Presumed Eurasian Lynx Lynx lynx, Möklinta, Uppland, Sweden, 02:30, 18 April 2012. 120418.MR.022954.01
Would you like to hear my 6-year-old son’s favourite sound recording? One night in April 2010 I was searching for Pallid Scops Owls Otus brucei on the Sayk plateau in northern Oman, when I recorded this fellow. Now, it is quite normal for a donkey to pump himself up with deep inhalations in order to bray as loud as possible. This one, however, pumps himself up so much he comes a bit loose at the seams, and brays from both ends of his body at once! Note the fine sense of rhythm from the rear department, before the front end drowns it out.
Feral Donkey Equus africanus asinus, Sayk plateau, Al Batinah, Oman, 19:48, 22 April 2010. 100422.MR.194818.00
Mark is not very brave when it comes to Ural Owls Strix uralensis. He has good reason to be afraid. When defending young they will attack unsuspecting citizens going for a walk in the woods. Mark likens their favoured tactic to a drone strike. Well, once he was unlucky enough to get the job of recording a brood, just at the most dangerous point of the breeding cycle. They had been raised in a nestbox at a corner of a large ‘owl meadow’ between two woods, and fledged less than a week before Mark’s visit. Showing him the spot, Professor Pertti Saurola had assured him that this female was “less aggressive than most of them.” However, one of the young was now on the ground, right below the nestbox, and going near it would surely be asking for trouble.
Mark sat on his stool, recording from a respectful distance of about 100 m. Listening to Common Cuckoos Cuculus canorus, roding Eurasian Woodcocks Scolopax rusticola, Mistle Thrushes Turdus viscivorus and European Robins Erithacus rubecula, he began to relax. Soon he felt bold enough to take his microphones some 25 m closer. After a long recording he was making some comments when suddenly, two gruff barks behind his back stopped him in mid-sentence. Shortly afterwards, Mark held the stool over his head, gathered his gear and bolted. When Dick heard the recording a few days later, he laughed out loud. “You ran away from a female Goldeneye!”
Ural Owl Strix uralensis and Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula Hauho, Kanta-Häme, Finland, 22:07, 25 May 2009. Begging calls of three recently fledged young Ural Owl, with two gruff calls of a female Goldeneye Background: Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus and European Robin Erithacus rubecula. 090525.MC.220700.01
One moonlit night in Limburg, the Netherlands, many years ago, I was recording a fledged brood of Tawny Owls Strix aluco close to a small pool full of frogs when they led me into a Eurasian Badger Meles meles set. As I was standing right next to one of the holes, a large Badger suddenly emerged. When he saw me he growled viciously. There was stalemate for a couple of seconds, at which point I started recording. Then when I moved my arms he bounded off as fast as he could, effing and blinding as he went. I was amazed that a Badger could sound so fierce, and I must admit he freaked me out!
Eurasian Badger Meles meles, Heerenveen, Limburg, Netherlands, 23:26, 9 June 2006. Growls while running away. Background: Tawny Owl Strix aluco. 060609.MR.233616.01