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WERNER SYKORA IS: THE BEAVER MAN

Patrick — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 09:48:11 +0000

At an ornithologist conference in may 2010 I met Werner Sykora from
Bad Düben (Saxony, Germany). He´s a guard to protect Beavers
Castor fiber in northwestern saxony and over several years he made
a lot of recordings from the inside of beaver lodges. In addition it
seems notable that Werner is building most of his equipment by himself.
Please listen to a selection from two “Best of CD´s” he shared, and feel
free to get in contact (oberbiber at web de).

© All recordings by Werner Sykora
Beaver Castor fiber, adult and juvenile, Call

Beaver Castor fiber, Contact Call

Beaver Castor fiber, activities

SPRING 2010

Patrick — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 06:57:44 +0000

It´s springtime. Since I read the book “The Sound Approach to birding
- a guide to understanding birdsound”, for me, spring is the most exciting season
of the year. Studying the development of bird songs (and calls?) is my favorite
activity now.

One of the first arrivals at the new year is the Song Trush Turdus philomelos.
Generally it´s crystallised song seems simple, but it´s plastic song is longer,
has lesser gaps between the verses and is full of imitations.

Song trush Turdus philomelos, plastic song, March 23th, 2010

With the first Blackcaps Sylvia atricapilla, my waiting for spring has an end.
It´s fluting song sounds through the hole park next to my my flat. In this
recording you can hear the more quiet plastic song with lesser break-outs
(this break-out tells us that this bird is no other sylvia-warbler) and longer
verses as in the crystallised song.

Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla, plastic song April 2nd, 2010

Sometimes a Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros sings at my windowsill.
This is one of my favorite birdsongs around there. The second part of it´s song,
for me, is one of the most amazing sounds made by an european bird.

Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros, song, April 4th, 2010

500m away from my flat, Long-Tailed Tits Aegithalus caudatus are breeding every year.
Unfortunately either they start to breed too early in the year and the eggs get
destroyed by the returning frost in april or predators devour the eggs or juveniles.

In this recording you can hear two Jays Garrulus glandarius who try to get
the eggs out of the hidden nest. The two brave “parents” try to defend it.

Long-tailed Tit Aegithalus caudatus vs. Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius, April 4th, 2010

Spingtime is not only springtime for peaceful people. 30km away from my
hometown Leipzig, there´s a wide sandpit with a lot of rare animals, plants
and “micro-habitats”. This wonderful area is attractive for motocross-bikers too.
Attend to the Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago getting flushed by a stupid
quad-biker.

Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus, call, April 4th, 2010

© Pic by Marcus Held

At the end of March my companion Marcus and I looked for amphibians,
particularly for Moor Frogs Rana arvalis and European Toads Bufo bufo.
I hoped to get a few recordings in a quiet a surrounding – but our mission failed.
The destination was a nature reserve in the north of Leipzig (Sachsen, East-Germany)
called “Papitzer Lachen” (Papitz`s Puddles). There are a few puddles surrounded
by meadows, small bushes and tree rows.
To our surprise there were a lot of European Fire-bellied Toads Bombina bombina
in full activity. But there were a lot of people too! Their dogs flushing birds
and so on… In addition there were heavy noise from the motorway 2km away.

pair of European Toads Bufo bufo, March 25th, 2010

© Pic by Marcus Held

European Fire-bellied Toads Bombina bombina and European Toads Bufo bufo, March 25th, 2010, pure

European Fire-bellied Toads Bombina bombina and European Toads Bufo bufo, March 25th, 2010, filtered

SYLVIA WARBLERS WITH ATYPICAL SONGS II

Patrick — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 06:34:23 +0000

In 2008 I posted a few recordings of Sylvia Warblers with atypical songs.
-> http://biophonie.info/bioacoustics/16-grasmucken-mit-atypischem-gesang/
Please take a look to the following website which handles more consolidated
findings on this topic! http://www.ginster-verlag.de/Raetselsaenger.html

HISSING AND CLICKING

Patrick — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:03:05 +0000

What do you think you hear in this recording?
A clockwork? A model railroad? Or maybe a snake?

Yesterday we ringed some juvenile Wrynecks Jynx torquilla.
What you can hear is their defense call.
For us it was a really impressive experience to hear and see
this bunch of hissing and clicking young birds in the nest-box.
This defence behaviour is optical remarkable too.
The Wrynecks turn their heads all the time to impersonate a snake.
Combined with the sound it didn´t miss its effect :-)

CORN BUNTING WITH YELLOWHAMER SONG

Patrick — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 07:54:28 +0000

On Spring 2008 the ornithologist Reinhold Brennecke (Haldensleben, near Magdeburg, Mid-Germany)
told me about a Corn Bunting Emberiza calandra he watched for 3 years, which singing like
a Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella. At the Forum of “Verein Sächsischer Ornithlogen” (VSO) i read
a report about the same topic. On early summer i visit the described place and had the luck to see and
hear the bird. Actually it was a Corn Bunting (on Dick Forsman´s homepage I read 1 month ago about nearly
grey Yellowhammers!)
While our SINGWARTE camp in June 2008 Marcus Held and I went out to record the singer.
The bird sang 2 different kinds of songs. A nearly equal Yellowhammer and a mixed
Yellowhammer/Corn Bunting song. The mixed one starts with Corn Bunting like short single sounds,
followed by a Yellowhammer part (typical first part double sounds in Yellowhammer song). The song
of our Corn Bunting ends with the typical short Corn Bunting sounds.

Corn Bunting, typical song, 2008:

Corn Bunting, atypical song – mixed one, June 29th, 2008:

Corn Bunting, atypical song – nearly equal to Yellowhammer, June 29th, 2008:

Yellowhammer, typical song, 2008:

WAITING FOR BOTAURUS STELLARIS

Patrick — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 10:21:36 +0000

Meanwhile waiting for the call of Eurasian Bittern Botaurus stellaris a Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus
came closer and called “alarm” as it noted us… Nearby a Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos.

June 22th, 2008, Schladebach near Merseburg, Sachsen-Anhalt (East-Germany), 11pm:

SYLVIIDAE WITH ATYPICAL SONGS

Patrick — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:22:07 +0000

Last year a birder from Leipzig pointed me to 2 birds that sing atypical. They were optically identified as Sylvia borin and Sylvia atricapilla. A detailed article was published in the society´s periodical “Mitteilungen des Ornithologischen Vereins zu Leipzig e.V. #14″. Please find the recordings and sonagrams below:

Sylvia atricapilla, typical Song

Sylvia atricapilla, atypical song

Sylvia atricapilla, atypical Song

Sylvia borin, typical song

Sylvia borin, atypical Song