Hiding in the bushes

15 march, the 'official' start of the breeding season in the Netherlands. It was beautiful weather, so I decided to go to the floodplains of Wageningen. Maybe some Bluethroats or a Gargeney. It was the latter which made me decide to get my recording gear. A drake was calling frequently, but swam to the other side of the side channel. I walked around the side channel and hid behind the bushes. There were also some Tufted Ducks (Aythya fuligula), also calling frequently. Of course they noticed me, so I sat down for half an hour, recording gear ready and waiting for the ducks to come closer! Of course, in the Netherlands it is never quiet, so the church bells and the local factory messed the recording up a little bit.

In fact, when I sat down, I was thinking about starting a blog. The first reason is that recording sound is awesome. Second, there is (comparable to pictures) little interest and knowledge about sound recording, so sharing is good. The last reason is that I would like to share these stories. Sitting down in the bushes for half an hour, quiet as hell and trying to get that one recording, and really it isn't that easy as it sometimes seems. So I started this blog and I will catch up with the stories that I still have in my memories :).

So, eventually I did not manage to get a recording of the Gargeney. The Tufted Ducks however, were still calling frequently. Gotta love that sound:

When you sit down for over a half a hour, some other birds come along. As did this Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus):

And this Willow Tit (Poecile montanus):