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

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Yesterday we ringed some juvenile Wrynecks Jynx torquila.
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 :-)

During my second journey to the island “Greifswalder Oie” in December 2008
I found a complete new situation there. No migrating birds; on the whole island
where only a few songbirds. A pair of Ravens Corvus corax made their display flights,
a straying flock of Hooded Crows Corvus corone cornix, and 5 or 6 clicking
Water Rails Rallus aquaticus. But on the costline and at the water where a lot of seabirds.

A sleeping place of Great Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo are located in the little wood.
It´s wonderfull to hear and see a flock of them, sitting down and clamouring through
the trees. There´s no stupid hunter or fisherman who attacks the birds…

17. December 2008, Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
 

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One day a small flock of Bohemian Waxwings Bombycilla garrulus strayed around.
This should be an small foretaste for the weeks after my return home. Up to 150
individuals migrated through my hometown Leipzig in January 2009. But unfortunately
at bad acoustic surroundings…

19. December 2008, Bohemian Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus
 

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After one week I finally managed to record the long call of a Water Rail Rallus aquaticus.
Prior to this the individuals hid within blackberry bushes and were clicking all the day,
but rarely “cried” their pig-like long calls.

26. December 2008, Water Rail Rallus aquaticus
 

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After a short daylight period I had enough time to collate my recordings. Another recording
of a Deer Capreolus capreolus giving a alarm call is a nice one I found.

27. September 2008, Deer Capreolus capreolus, alarm call
 

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Whithin October 2008 Marcus and I were at a ringing station on isle
“Greifswalder Oie” in north of FRGermany.
For me, this offered a complete new view/hearing on this topic.
At my hometown Leipzig, the bird migration only appears with
large flocks of greater birds like Cranes or Geese. Now there were
mainly songbirds. One of the most frequent appearing birds on the island
were Goldcrests Regulus regulus – their high pitched calls were anywhere.

During the hourly “control-walks” along the nets, i notice a sound, seemingly
of geese, always from the same direction. Once a day, Marcus told me
about a tree nearby the nets that sounded like White-Fronted-Geese Anser albifrons
or kind of New Music!?

The acoustic highlight for me was two days of heavy migration
of Trushes. At morning. i walked a bit around, as i noticed hundreds
of ascending Blackbirds Turdus merula, Song Thrushes Turdus philomelos,
Mistle Thrushes Turdus viscivorus, Fieldfares Turdus pilaris, Redwings Turdus iliacus
and a single Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus.

12. October 2008, Goldcrest Regulus regulus
 

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22. October 2008, a tree
 

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12. October 2008, various migrating songbirds
 

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© Picture by Marcus Held