Dawn Birdsong in Dalarna, The Dales of Sweden
Jun 12th, 2010 by andrew skeoch
Dawn birdsong in Dalarna, the Dales of Sweden by Listening Earth
Driving out of Stockholm, our first impression of Sweden was of a landscape that seemed like a never-ending golf course.
That doesn’t sound very appreciative, does it? It is probably inspired by the mixture of woodlands and grassy fields, and the sense of a landscape tended with care for generations. Add in the quaint farmhouses with traditional red-stain wood buildings, and a proliferation of beautiful lakes, and Sweden is a very picturesque country.
After arriving here utterly exhausted from the Turkey leg of our field trip, we took a few days to recover, staying with our dear friends, Colin and Jackie. They’re an English couple who have recently retired to the town of Avesta, about 100km northwest of Stockholm.
I’ve known Colin for over 30 years, but this is the first time we’ve visited them in their new Swedish home. It came as a pleasant surprise to realise that they live in Dalarna, the Swedish Dales district, a gently undulating landscape of farmlands and woodlands. So we have been enjoying their hospitality and using their home as a base to explore the surrounding lakes and woodlands.
We’re here at the right time – spring is happening with great rapidity. Each day the foliage on the trees is noticeably denser than it was, and the deciduous woodlands are a vibrant green the likes of which we don’t see at home.
The birds are singing strongly too, but in that there is a small problem – they’re just not keeping decent hours.
Being nearly midsummer, and at this latitude, we are getting nearly 24 hours of daylight. Even at midnight it is not really dark, with a twilight of green-blue glowing across the northern horizon.
So after a brief quiescence, the birds are beginning their day around 2am. For us to get into the forests to record them in time, we are having to wake up around 12.30am, after trying to get to sleep around 6pm. Not only is this ruining our social life, we are feeling like we have permanent jetlag.
But its worth it, the dawn birdsong is rich and extended. This recording comes from our first morning out, and was made in mature Birch woodlands on the edge of a lake.
Update: We’ve now released an album recorded later in the morning at this location, entitled ‘Birch Wood‘.
Here’s a sample. The album is available for digital download from our website.
Established in 1993 by nature sound recordist Andrew Skeoch and photographer Sarah Koschak, Listening Earth offers a range of beautiful nature sound recordings from around the world.
"Our albums feature only the sounds of nature as you would hear in the wild - no music or other distractions. Recorded in often remote and pristine locations, they bring you the relaxing and beautiful sounds of our living planet. Listen, and let our recordings take you there."
Good to hear news from Sweden! And nice recording! In the beginning there are also several Redwings singing, one of them quite nearby (for example at 1:20, then again at 13:20). They have two-part song, second part very similar to Fieldfare. Then there are Robins (one of them can be heard more clearly at 4:35).
Hope you dont have that much mosquitoes like we have in Estonia. In forest they surround you in hundreds. It is worst spring I have seen regarding mosquitoes.
Hi Veljo,
Thanks for your identifications!
The Redwings are puzzling me… I have uploaded another recording of what I suspect are Redwings calling at dawn. Am I right?
http://audioboo.fm/boos/140324-redwings-dawn-song
Mosquitos not such a problem for us. We’re currently in the mountains near the Norwegian border, but even though it has been raining, and the landscape is full of bogs, there are not many mosquitos. Surprising!
Andrew
Hi Andrew!
Yep, the other recording features also a Redwing. They have local dialects and if you are not familiar with it, it might be puzzling. The first (and louder) part consists usually of ascending or descending notes and they have this trilling quality. Second part of song is quite unmusical quiet chattering and it is easy to miss it in early morning cacophony of sounds. Here are couple of examples of Redwing songs (unfortunately not solo recordings):
http://aporee.org:81/010602g.mp3
http://aporee.org:81/20010105e.mp3
All the best!
Veljo
Hi Veljo,
Ah, thank you for that! Instinctively I felt that I was hearing Redwings, but had no evidence confirming that. So that is nice to know.
The mosquitoes are getting more plentiful here as the birdsong season trails off. It is no longer optimal to be recording. Amazing how short the northern season is. In Australia you will hear birdsong throughout the year, so it is very different for us.
Warm regards,
Andrew