Listen up! Children to tune in to the sounds of nature

The Wildlife Trusts’ top groups for kids get wildlife sound recording equipment

19th July, 2010

Most of us can picture a hedgehog, blue tit, or grasshopper, but what does one sound like? Members of Wildlife Watch, The Wildlife Trusts’ network of groups for children, are now able to find out thanks to some new state of the art field recording equipment.

The Wildlife Sound Recording Society (WSRS) has generously provided The Wildlife Trusts with a wildlife sound recording kit worth more than £1,000. Now, the 300 Wildlife Watch groups across the UK can borrow the equipment and use it to tune in to the sounds of their local wildlife, hopefully learning much more about it in the process.

Adam Cormack, communications manager for The Wildlife Trusts, said: “We are very grateful to the Wildlife Sound Recording Society for generously providing this equipment. We hope it will encourage our young members to discover the sounds of nature on their doorstep and we are looking forward to hearing the results. We hope this new initiative will help children to tune in, turn on and press record!

“The sounds of nature are all around us but are often over-looked or easily missed. We hope this toolkit will show our young members that recording wildlife doesn’t need to be difficult, or perfect either. Recording the sounds of nature can be great fun but capturing the sounds that humans make such as noise from cars or aeroplanes is also part of the fun of field recording. Recording and listening to them can tell us a lot about the impact we have on our environment.”

WSRS is all about encouraging participation in the collection of weird and wonderful wildlife sounds, and is at the cutting edge of developing recording skills and techniques. Chair Roger Boughton, said: “We, at the Wildlife Sound Recording Society, are excited at the prospect of giving the opportunity for the junior members of The Wildlife Trusts to get closer to the sounds of nature. From the quietest click of a cricket or the chilling shriek of a barn owl, to the magnificent roar of a red deer, these breathtaking wild sounds can make your hair stand on end.

“We look forward to hearing how Watch groups get on, how they capture the sounds, and what they record.”

Those who are curious to hear the roars, croaks and coos of our wild creatures might want to get outside and listen. Here are five top wild sounds to tune into this summer:

- Screaming swifts – look out for the forked tails of these small birds wheeling overhead
- Grasshoppers and crickets – their chirrup can be heard in gardens and fields
- Popping gorse seeds – listen out for the brown pods of this yellow bush bursting open with a snap
- Buzzing bees – busy collecting nectar from all the flowers in bloom
- Lawnmowers – perhaps not so wild, but when you hear it, it’s hard not to get a summery feeling inside

Wildlife sounds the WSRS has captured are also available to download as ringtones on the Wildlife Watch website: www.wildlifewatch.org.uk/Downloads. Download a roaring red deer or a croaking natterjack toad!

Story by RSWT

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Image credit: Great green bush cricket by Bruce Shortland

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