handrew

First of all let me say that I have never previously tried to record birdsong. I have enough problems seeing them with my bifocals let alone recording them  But on a whim I invested (they are not cheap) in one of the new recording devices that can either be handheld or attached to your binoculars. For others contemplating buying here are my thoughts after a couple of days trying it out.

Firstly it is very light and easy to use. There are 2 recording buttons, one for notes and one for birdsong. The bird mike is on the front of the device so that if you attach it to your binoculars and look through them at the bird, the mike is supposed to be pointing directly at it. If you have big hands or fingers you may find it a bit fiddly.

You have to wear the plug in earpiece to hear what you are recording or the playback. I don't really like this but thats a personal viewpoint.

After you have pressed to record the device records until you release the button then loops continuously for 4 seconds in what they term 'always on' mode. This does shut down eventually!

It comes with software which is reasonably intuitive but as a techno-idiot I had to resort to the manual. It does not seem to allow you to delete an entire outing. If you erase/delete each piece of data recorded then you are left with a blank folder. Each recording is date and time stamped which is quite nifty. You need to synch the device with your pc to use this. You can tell from this that I have done a lot of deleting so far and very little keeping.

When I played back my recordings a number of things struck me:

firstly they were pretty bad - my fault undoubtedly.
secondly, there was a lot of wind noise - the advice is to get down to ground level where wind noise is lower. I discovered this after using the recorder of course.
and thirdly it is sensitive enough to pick up a lot of ambient noise including rustling clothing and bad language as the bird flies off or the lorry drives past in the distance.

I would like to upload a couple of very short snippets as an example but keep getting an error message in Chinese which I have never seen before and I can't upload anything at all at present.

Conclusion - if you are a serious recorder then this is probably not for you. But if you want to make occasional recordings and capture things in the field for subsequent ID then this is a convenient way of doing so. Its expensive for what it is and for people like me it needs quite a bit of practice........... but I'm only now getting used to digital cameras!

sgeoff

I find this interesting.  I have been thinking about getting some digital recording equipment, parabolic reflector etc, but really don't know where to start.  Can anyone point me in the right direction?  Are there any bird recording experts currently working in HK?   It would be nice to have a database of HK birds, not only the superb photos which are continually being added by our extemely talented mebers, but some sound files to accompany them as well.

深藍-Owen

Interesting topic, I just borrow my unuse MD walkman to Mr. On of Tai Po Kau for same purpose as he claim that the MP3 recorder quality not good enough for bird calling recording especially the high frequency are all gone after playback.  Hope I can get some feedback from him later as he prepare this for the coming Spring migration.

handrew

I think Richard Lewthwaite is the resident recording expert and there is already a link to bird recordings on the public HKBWS website.  The problem for me is the amount of gear I already carry. If you try to be a birder and photographer then you end up like some sort of beast of burden. I wanted something genuinely small and light that I could add to my kit without it making things too worse. I am already contemplating selling my 500mm f4 IS as I find the 300mm f2.8 serves me well and is so much easier on my back.  :wink:

One thing the Remembird can't do is create sonograms but I'm sure they can be transferred into that format somehow.

sgeoff

I don't seem to see a link to recordings on the site - can you point it out?

tbob

Andrew,

I have tried sound recording of bird song in Hong Kong, I was trying to add another dimension to video's we produce. The main problem I came across was the ambient background noise - vehicles, piledrivers etc. I went to Pokfulam Country Park, to an area that I thought was quiet, but although I was using a professional (Senheisser) microphone with windshield, it was the construction work that was going on at the Peak that ruined the recording.

I believe it is fairly common overseas for birders to play back sounds of bird to attract the same species to come an investigate, just make sure you are not playing their warning alarm sounds.

Bob

PS. Regarding your problem of uploading to this site, try reducing the file size of the photo

PPS. If you live on Lamma disregard my comments on the noise problem

handrew

This is the link to the bird calls:

http://www.hkbws.org.hk/call.html

I hope it works for you!

The warning about "tape"-luring is a good one. I know it is widely done but should not really be used with territorial birds that may desert nests etc.

Andrew

sgeoff

Thanks - This is really useful.  I still can't see a link on the portal.  Is there one there, or do I have a blind spot?

handrew

Geoff, I can't explain it. I tried at work this morning and didn't find it. When I log on at home I see it. Bizarre! I should have included Cheung Ho Fai as another expert recorder!