The amber moon was just setting at 4.45 this morning as I set off towards Simmerson Hill on my Ring Ouzel transect ... the first sound to break the silence of a frosty morning was Snipe ... 'chitting' away intermittently somewhere in the dark landscape with only the glimmer of an impending orangey dawn ...
... the sonogram shows louder and quieter sounds alternating and a rather unexpected downturn in frequency, indistinguishable to the ear ...
... then heading up the rocky and boggy track with only memory of the route as a guide ... there came that familiar 'typewriter' chatter of alarming Ring Ouzel ...
... each note showing a wide frequency range typical of 'unmusical' sounds ... delivered in regular but slightly slowing tempo ...
... a Wheatear delivered its 'crackling verse' ... again unseen ...
... hardly any wonder that the song is described as ' hard to transcribe' ... such a complex mix of notes delivered in super-fast time ...
... there were Black Grouse seemingly all around and presumably at individual leks rather than a big communal gathering ... the early sounds were mainly the 'hissing' type ...
... the sonogram shows an amorphous structure with a fading and slightly upwardly inflected quality ...
... then came something rather more musical as Curlews got going with their lovely wild delivery ...
... this time more recognisable ... that fluty 'cour- lii' but with some interesting harmonics revealed at higher frequencies ... and finally a visible bird ! ... the sun now lighting up the surrounding hilltops ...
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