TBL Podcast - Season 15 Episode 8 - Learning to Listen: How Sound Recording Changes Your Birding

In this episode of The Birding Life Podcast, I sit down with Barry Forbes for a conversation about sound recording and the way it can completely change how we experience birds.

Rather than a formal interview, this episode is a relaxed discussion about Barry’s journey into birding, how he became interested in recording bird sounds, and what he has learnt along the way.

We chat about how sound recording can improve your ability to recognise and remember bird calls, how it encourages you to slow down in the field, and how it can change the way you approach birding altogether. Barry also shares some of the lessons he learnt during the Big Year of African Sound workshop, including mistakes he was making before, practical recording tips, and some of the things that helped improve his recordings.

We also look at recording with a phone compared with using a dedicated recorder and microphone, Barry’s editing process, some of his favourite recordings, and moments where sound recording has helped him discover something new about a bird.

Of course, we also touch on the Big Year of African Sound and the incredible role it has played in getting more birders across Africa to start recording and contributing bird sounds.

Whether you already record bird sounds or you have only ever thought about giving it a try, this episode is really about learning to listen a little more closely and discovering how much more there is to hear when we are out birding.

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Intro and outro music by Tony ZA https://soundcloud.com/tonyofficialza

Links from show:

Big Year of African Sound Website http://www.africansounds.org/

Barry's eBird profile https://ebird.org/profile/MzU3MzQ5Ng

Adam's eBird profile https://ebird.org/profile/MzI1MzIzOA