Three sessions, recorded in super quiet big field, were recorded extremely close to birds. The intention was to grab very isolated and rich sounds, useful for sound design. For this sessions we used Sanken CO-100k and Sennheiser MKH-8060, which were super close (just a few centimeters away from brids beaks) and Schoeps CMC-6XT MK41 a bit wider for more natural/open sound. Although sometimes Sanken and Sennheiser sound very similiar (they were in similar position), we left both files. Sanken recordings (@192kHz) are amazing for pitch shifting, yet sounds recorded by Sennheiser are very natural in neutral pitch.
When pitch shifted, all sounds become very evocative and emotional sound design sources.
All sounds were recorded on Sound Devices 700 series recorders.

Bird species recorded:
* Harris Hawk (Male)
* Harris Hawk (Young Female)
* Northern Goshawk
* Saker Falcon
* Indian Eagle-Owl
* Bald Eagle
* Barn Owl
* Buzzard
* Eurasian Eagle-Owl
* Great Horned-Owl
* Tawny Eagle
* Kestrel
* Red Kite

All files contain natural sequences and rhythms of calls. There are also close wing flaps, movements and even sounds of birds eating recorded in macro close POV.
The library is extensively metatagged in Soundminer.

Gear used:
Sanken CO-100k
Sennheiser MKH-8060
Schoeps CMC-6XT MK41
Neumann KMR-81
Sound Devices 702 & 744

Available here:

https://www.asoundeffect.com/sound-library/predatory-birds/

http://sonicsalute.com/product/predatory-birds/

https://sonniss.com/sound-effects/predatory-birds/

It was the first time when I took out my new mics – hydrophones and contact mics made by Jez Riley French.
I have Aquarian H2a hydrophone which I liked. It’s a heavy duty mic, so I have tried it in rough conditions – recording in boiling water or freezing it. It always worked great. What is nice is that it’s quite heavy so it’s easy to dip it in rapid current streams.

But I was shocked by the quality of sound of JrF hydrophones – they have wide frequency range and much less internal noise than H2a.
I was amazed with the sound of tadpoles – they sound like they would like to devour my mics. It could work nice for sound of piranhas.
Here are tadpoles in pond, recorded with both hydrophones:

And another take with a pair of JrF hydrophones, much more intense:

And some samples of recordings in a mountain stream – I’m always fascinated with variety of sounds which I can get in one location with hydrophones, changing its position slightly:

There is never enough birds in the library. Listening to the birds singing is totally relaxing experience for me. Plus I love recording sounds with natural reverb of places.

I left my Neumann MS rig on balcony, recording dawn chorus from 4am. It’s stunning to listen how forest wakes up. And always something unexpected happens:

Later I found this beautifully singing cuckoo in the forest:

And Tawny Owl at night (it was very distant, so I had to use RX on it):

During the day I did comparison test between my trusty Sony PCM D50 (mics in wide position) and Zoom H6 (with MS capsule) recording thunders and rain. They sound quite similar, yet Sony sounds brighter.

During the windy day I attached DPA 4060s to the tree branches to record super close perspective of leaves rustle. Being omni mics they record less wind rumble than cardioids making them good choice for this kind of recording.

As a bonus I recorded heating radiator hiss in a house we stayed with DPAs and a pair of JrF contact mics. Below are different takes of DPAs, JrFs and a mix of them.

I managed to record a few different ecosystems: field/meadow, over the ponds/close to the river and forests. It was a bit windy, but I used my car as a wind shield.
Standing still and listening is one of the best ways to rest for me.

Last years I was focusing on recording atmospheres of the empty city. Yesterday I have seen large flock of pigeons on a square in my city. They used to be fed there and drink water from the fountain. It sounded amazing even from the distance, I thought they will probably be there today too. I knew I have to record it.

I took a pack of sunflower seeds to feed them. When I arrived to the square and took it out, cloud of pigeons surrounded me. I recorded this great, close perspective flutter when they landed:

They were so used to the sounds and gestures of taking out the food, that they reacted even when I run out of sunflower and pretended that I’m pouring the seeds.

After some time they get bored, then I recorded take offs:

Pigeons fully deserved their payment.
Later, I moved to the park where I wished to record rooks and water birds close to the pond.

There were no rooks today, but I managed to record ducks:

And their nice take offs from the pond:

Getting up after just three hours of sleep today definitely paid off.