Nedre Kärret; Voices from a Forest Wetland; The Tyresta Files #4

Tucked away, deep inside the ancient woodlands that make up Tyresta National Park, lies one of many small wetlands, hidden in the interior of this vast forest reserve. This small marsh is called Nedre Kärret and lies in a natural ampitheatre, surrounded by high outcrops of rock and pristine spruce forest. Having honed in on this micro habitat, I decided to attempt to uncover the birds present day and night, using a combination of active and passive recording techniques. The wetland is in constant flux, with European Beaver the architects of this hidden world, creating breeding habitat for a multitude of bird species by way of their ceaseless activities. In this episode I will lift the curtain an this magical little wetland and invite you, the listener, to join me....

Transcript

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 You are all very welcome to Wild Bird Acoustics. I'm your host, Alan Dalton, and I'll be taking you on a journey into sound.

 Now  📍 welcome everybody to Wild Bird Acoustics.

Once again, I'm your host, Alan Dalton, and we are back in Rista National Park for another sale magazine, another installment of the RIS de Files. And this week I'm gonna be focusing on a very small freshwater habitat, well within the park named Nedra. She now. A lot of these fresh water habitats within the park are created by European beaver, and it's an animal I've become absolutely fascinated with, 



Now what these animals do is they basically dam streams, as I'm sure many of you're aware, and when the process begins, they will flood a large area of forest. Now, once they flooded the forest, they will start to move out and fell trees around them. And after a few years of this activity, what happens is.

You get a small wetland, which generally expands in size and depending how long beavers have been in the area, it just reil naturally. You get things like reed beds, lots of fresh water, marsh vegetation, and what happens is various species begin to move in and breed in the area,  and these areas are incredibly rich for birds. And like I say, I became absolutely fascinated with these small freshwater habitats within the Woodland at Tears to National Park in 2024. Now Nedra, she is actually a very, very low lying area, lies within some high rocky outcrops 

it's quite small actually, and it's hidden from view. You have to kind of get through the forest a little bit, climb down into it, and that's exactly what I did when I found it a couple of years ago, and this was an area I wanted to concentrate on and do a little bit of sound recording. Within. I also managed to use SM mini recorders very, very effectively here, and the results were quite wonderful  it just unlocked a wonderful hidden world, particularly at night.

And I'm gonna share some recordings with you in this sound magazine.

 Now, I decided to concentrate on Nedra Sheret around the second week of April from about the 6th of April onwards. And on the 6th of April, I visited Park personally,

and I dropped down into the wetland, just got down the rocky outcrops and I planted an SM mini recorder and I deployed that for about nine days and just left it there to see what I would pick up. Now I had the sling a problem with me on that day, and when I was doing this, I got a lovely recording of Eurasian Tree Creeper in Full song.

It's a very, very common species in the park, but this is a particularly nice short recording of Eurasian Tree Creeper in Full song, as I say, with the Tinga. Pbla have a listen.

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 Now, as I said, on the day I put down an SM mini recorder. I deployed it for about nine days, and I left it in some brush just on the ground, on the edge of the freshwater marsh. There was a lot of fallen trees there, some beavers had cut down a lot of logs, pine trees and spruces.

And I just put the device inside that cover, left it there for nine days and returned. And as always, when you get to a new site  it's incredibly exciting to go through the audio. And when I opened up the audio. One of the first things I realized was there were plenty of black woodpecker in the area, which is absolutely no surprise, but I got a huge amount of wonderful audio.

I'm gonna share a recording with you now from the SM E, and in this recording you're gonna hear a black woodpecker. Initially some fly calls. The board is very, very close to the recorder, probably within a few meters, then it moves away slightly and begins to give clay calls. The contact call of the species from a nearby tree. I presume this is Black Woodpecker at Nedra Sheret in Thta National Park.

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Now lovely recording. I think you'll agree in the background. There are lots of tits and common species, and the soundscape there in the morning was absolutely fantastic, and I kept a large amount of audio of these soundscapes. It was wonderfully, wonderfully quiet in the park as always. And I'm gonna play a soundscape now from the 9th of April at the same site.

Again, it features black woodpecker. There's a pair of birds in the area giving the flight calls, and again, the lee or contact calls of the species, which is the main focus of this recording. But the other big feature of this sound recording is the wonderful Don CORs in the background.

It was taken at about 5:00 AM in the morning and the forest is just starting to wake up. The Eurasian Siskin various tit species distance song thrush in song Robin Hooded Crow, wood Pigeon, and Distant Canada goose. So this is an early morning soundscape featuring Black woodpecker from ra.

She. 

 Terima kasih telah menonton!  📍 

Now before I move on Black Woodpecker, I'm just gonna play one more short recording of the flight call of the species. This came on the 9th of April at about 7:00 AM as I say, quite a short recording. This is the flight call of Black Woodpecker. Very, very close to the recorder.

  

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Now the next recording I have for you came on the 10th of April, 2024, about five 40 in the morning, and this again is a longer recording.

It's about three and a half minutes long and it's of common buzzard. I got this wonderful recording of these species just displaying around the area, and it's a quite wonderful recording. Again, the background is quite incredible.

Does Black Woodpecker various hit species? As always does. Blackbird calling Jay singing song Thrush, you raising Siskin from about a minute onwards. There some calls of Ling. There's also Chaffing. Great Spot Woodpecker, hooded Crow, singing Robin. Wood pigeon and the Eurasian tree creeper. But like I say, the main species here, a wonderful recording of common buzzard, just moving around and giving some calls.

Have a listen to this,

 Terima telah

Terima kasih telah menonton 📍 

Now one of the iconic bird species that benefits most from the activities of European beaver is common crane. There's several pairs in the park and they all breed on European beaver created wetlands.

I'm gonna play an absolutely wonderful recording from the 11th of April, just before dawn, and it's common grain giving their dawn display. There's a wonderful bit of wind ambience here in the background, some creaking trees. There's also siskin and some calls of common buzzard as well as Robin and even a few distant co calls, But this is an absolutely wonderful recording of the Dawn Display of Common Crane at Nedra. She, it's about four minutes long. I'm gonna play the whole thing for you. I'm not gonna shy away from playing longer recordings. Have a listen to this folks. Sit back and relax. This is common Crane.

 Hello. 📍 

Now, European beaver are present. Obviously they created the marsh, and I found these animals were very, very good at sniffing out my recorders. And on several occasions they actually found them and moved them, and that happened on this occasion. What you're gonna hear in this next recording is a European beaver probably just sniffing around looking for food.

They just. Bark from branches and things like that,

this is a recording of a beaver. Just sniffing out, digging out my recorder, moving it slightly, and then just moving on. Fantastic. Recording a European beaver right on top of my SM mini recorder. Have a listen to this folks.

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Now I'm gonna move on to a species I became increasingly fascinated with in 2024, and that is Eurasian J. You're gonna hear a soundscape now about five minutes long. It's a large group of J around the recorder in the general area, just moving to the trees, moving around, giving the usual raucous calls, as well as an incredible range of other stranger calls. They're absolutely wonderful vocalists, and I won't harp on about it too much. This is just a wonderful recording. There's lots going on in the background. Nut Hatch, chaffin robin, and song drumming. Great spotted woodpecker, the usual tits siskin calling, singing song thrush and wood pigeon.

But the main focus here is a wonderful, wonderful soundscape from a large group of Eurasian. Jay, have a listen to this folks.

 Terima

Terima kasih telah menonton 📍 

The next recording I have for you is taken with the Tinga Pbla. On the day I went back to collect my SM and e recorder. It's a very nice recording of a Red Cross bill. The bird came in calling and then actually proceeded to give a little bit of song notes. Gonna play it for you straight away. Quite short.

Wonderful recording with the Tinga Pbla. This is Red Cross Bill at Nedra.

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 moving on, one of the joys of passive recording is the nocturnal aspect, and it really, really does open up a location. You'll learn so much is like a little glimpse into a secret world. And deploying an SME at Nedra was no, except. Whatsoever. The first recording I'm gonna play for you is a very, very regular species at the site.

It is common Mohan. Here's a bird passing over in the middle of the night, possibly from a nearby wetland, or possibly on this wetland that Richard itself. Very, very brief recording. This is the nocturnal call of a Mohan, just moving around at night, giving its calls, and these birds do this at night just to advertise their territory.

This is common Mohan.

  

 📍 Next up another nocturnal species. Maybe a little bit more of a surprise, but no surprise to me. Actually, tears to National Park is probably 15 to 20 kilometers inland at this location. And on the 12th of April, I recorded these common scooter overlying the wetland at about three o'clock in the morning in the pitch darkness and just migrating overland.

It's well documented now that these. Birds actually migrate overland. They're sea ducks, but when they migrate, they will quite happily fly overland and very early April. mid-April is an excellent time for them around the Stockholm area. Quite a nice recording of a group of migrating common scouter over tier National Park.

  

 📍 Now we're gonna stay on the nocturnal aspect of the recordings, but this time it's a resident species one. I was absolutely delighted to get audio of at the park in spring 2024. The species I'm talking about is Tony L Now. Up until last spring, I haven't actually managed to get any really good audio of the species.

I haven't been out an awful lot overnight in early spring, which is the reason for that. But actually getting out there and putting now some passive recorders at the park in the spring, early spring period meant I got some wonderful audio. And Ned Rashard proved to be a superb location. There was a pair of breeding at the site, and I had some wonderful recordings of the species.

I'm gonna run through some of those, which you know, first up a recording from the 9th of April, dead of night, is the solicitation calls of Tony. Have a listen to this. A wonderful, wonderful recording.

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 The next recording I have for you was of a pair of birds giving solicitation calls, and there's also some compound hooting here. I think the solicitation calls the early ones at least, are from a male bird.

And I think in the earlier recording, which you heard first, I think that may be a female, but in this recording, you're gonna hear a pair interacting solicitation calls before you're gonna hear some compound hooting. I'm not sure whether that's from a male or female. Suspect probably male, but both boards give these calls.

We'll have a listen now, this is one of the earlier recordings I got on the 9th of April. This is a pair of Tony o interacting the dead of night.

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Now another recording of an interacting pair later the same night, and a lovely background here. You can hear some toads actually starting to display. It's about four o'clock in the morning and there were plenty of toads on this wetland at times. Let me tell you, it's also mallard in the background as well as K, but here you're gonna hear solicitation calls at the start, followed by compound hooting.

And this was a typical, really of the scene on some nights at the site, and it made for some wonderful audio. The birds, again, a little bit distance, but eventually they would come closer over the course of the next few nights, have a listen to this. This is a pair of interacting al solicitation calls and compound hooing The.

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Now, as I said, it did come closer. I'm gonna play you a lovely burst of solicitation calls now about 40 seconds long, and particularly the first sequence of calls very, very close. Very, very clear. Once again, the solicitation call of Tawny Ell.

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The next recording I have for you is a little bit longer. It's about three minutes. Again, it's a pair interacting. Have a listen. It's quite difficult to know what's going on. Sometimes I haven't really actually put these sonograms in and analyzed them very, very carefully. You can actually tell the males from the females if you do some work online. Just have a look at these sonograms. But for now, it's obviously a bird coming into the area, giving solicitation calls.

There's a wonderful compound to it. Like I say, you'll hear that and then there's a period of interaction between the two words. Wonderful. Recording about three minutes long. We'll have a listen to it now.   📍 

 

Next up a recording from the 9th of April. This time it's a compound hooting male. Very, very nice recording this one. And I love these compound hoots, kind of the typical stereotypical nocturnal L call. You will often hear in the background in movies here in Europe, but this is a male Tony giving compound hoots.

You can also hear the calls in the background of a female bird solicitation calls and others. This is recorded about nine o'clock and quite often I found that these birds are most active. Maybe an hour or two after the sun goes down and again for an hour or two before the sun comes up.

The best time to probably record these words. I think. Another wonderful recording. About 40 seconds long of a pair of Tanya Have a listen to this.

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 Now one more of Tanya before I move on, is the compound hoots of another bird here on the 12th of April. This time at 2:07 AM in the morning, and I suspect most of these recordings of these interacting kind of birds is a male possibly coming back with prey for the female, but I'm not quite sure.

So first up, you're gonna hear some wonderful, wonderful compound hooting, and then the solicitation calls of the other word. In the background. We'll have a listen to that. Now, before we move on, once again, this is a pair of Tony's interacting compound hoots and solicitation calls.

I.

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Next up another avian beneficiary of European beaver wetlands, and that is Hooper swan. These birds really, really do rely greatly on Beaver to actually move into woodland wetlands like these. Without beavers, these wetlands just would not be created. So hooper swans in the park, several pairs once again, do very, very well.

And the first recording I have is from the 11th of April, and it is early in the morning in the background as usual, singing Robin Tree, creeper cold hit chaffing and song thrush. But listen for a pair of Hooper swan flying overhead and just coming in through wetland early in the morning at about 5:00 AM.

 Terima kasih telah menonton

Terima telah

Terima kasih

telah menonton! 📍 

Now another recording of Hooper Swan, but this time a little bit different. It's a territorial dispute. Obviously another bird has just come into the wetland and the local pair. Were not happy with this at all, so you're gonna hear that in this recording. Very, very loud. Fantastic recording.

And for me, one of the iconic sounds of wetlands here in Sweden. In the background, there's a nice bit of audio bike hatch, a lesser spotted woodpecker. Listen now for that bird calling in the background as well as some nut hatch and wood pigeon. But the main subject here of course, is Hooper Swan, a territorial dispute on the wetland at Nedra.

Have a listen.

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 Now a very special recording next I think, and on the wetlands quite often in the early spring, especially if it was a damp night, common toad would be displaying. It was early in the spring and these amphibians had just come out of hibernation.

So that provided an absolutely wonderful backdrop for its next recording of eroding Eurasian woodcock. Now, woodcock typically come out on display just before sun goes down, and it's a wonderful sight to behold in the forest if we're ever out in the evening,

it is a very, very distinctive sound and you're gonna hear it now. Listen for these single high notes of roading woodcock, as well as the low grunting sound. A quite remarkable noise, I think. And I'm gonna play it a recording now. It's an absolutely wonderful recording. I think the background against the comment holds is superb.

So this is roading woodcock against a background of common toad. Have a listen.

  

  📍 one of my main target species on these wetlands in the early spring period was green Sandpiper. They were starting to return to the breeding grounds, and once again, these European beaver ponds and wetlands are vital for the species here in Sweden, and the majority of pears breed around habitats like this.

Now first up, I'm gonna play a short recording of a bird that turned up on the 9th of April. This was the earliest recording I got. Wasn't particularly close to the recorder, but I was quite happy with this. Now, this was taken at 6:04 AM in the background. You can hear a great spotted woodpecker feeding and also chaffing, but listen here for the calls, displaying calls of green Sandpiper, most likely just returned to the wetland.

I.

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Now with Stay on Green Sandpiper, I have another short recording of a displaying bird for you. This one from the 12th of April, and again, just after 6:00 AM in the morning. This one, happily, a little bit closer to the recorder.

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By the 13th of April there was a pair back at the site and it was quite wonderful to finally get a few recordings of both birds in display just before 7:00 AM unfortunately, I don't think I had my recorders in the optimal position, but still a decent recording and I was fairly happy with it in the end.

What you're gonna hear now is a displaying pair of green Sandpiper at Ned Sheret on the wetland. Listen also for the very close calls of Red Cross Bill at one point in this recording. It's about two minutes long. But like I say, the main target species here was green Sandpiper, and we'll have a listen to that now.

This is the display of a pair at the site.

  📍  

 Now for the last recording, I've decided to go with a wonderful, wonderful recording

and here you're gonna hear, comment holds in the evening. Displaying or calling out for mates after they've emerged in hibernation. It's an absolutely wonderful sound and it was recorded just at dusk and in the background you can hear various species such as chaffing and other birds just winding down in the evening.

Very, very peaceful soundscape from a much longer recording of about 12 minutes. I'm gonna play it just two minutes. This is just a very, very nice soundscape from Ned Rashard, an absolutely wonderful little wetland, quite a new creation. By the beavers. It's still pretty young. This wetland has a long way to go, but it's an absolutely wonderful, wonderful little location and I was so glad I took a bit of time just to get into it and find out what might be living there.

Put a few recorders down and be able to bring you this little sound magazine. Have a listen to this, folks. This is a wonderful recording. Evening soundscape with a background of common tos.

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So that's it folks. That's the tears, the files. Ned a tiny little wetland bursting with life in tears to National Park. Like I mentioned, I'm so glad I just took a little bit of time to explore this place and get a few recorders down and incredible experience. As I mentioned previously, I just fell in love with the park.

. Through April and May, I discovered so much. It was an absolute joy to just get out there, poke around, discover things, and I came across so much amphibians, birds, mammals, you name it. I do hope you have enjoyed this sound magazine, this new longer format I'm trying out in season three.

So I'm hoping these longer sound magazines are well received. You can gimme some feedback on that if you like, but for me, it's kind of nice to get everything into one place. Just have a nice narrative, talk you through everything, and it gives a little bit more continuity, I think, to the podcast. But it's been wonderful, like I say, to be out at tears to National Park and I hope you have enjoyed it.

Folks, that's all for me. Alan Dalton here at Wild Bird Acoustics. We'll see you next time, folks, as always, thank you for listening.

 So that brings us to the end of another episode of Wild Bird Acoustics, and I hope you've enjoyed it. As always, you can find us on YouTube by simply searching for wild bird acoustics. We do have a mailing list also, and if you want to be part of that folks, you can drop us an email at Wild Bird acoustics@gmail.com.

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We will be back in a couple of weeks with more from wild bird acoustics. Until then, take it easy, folks, and as always, don't be afraid to get out into the field and relax and just listen to the wildlife out there. Maybe even do a little bit of field recording of your own. We'll talk to you soon, folks.

Take it easy. That's all from Wild Bird Acoustics.