Dawn Chorus at Perch Lake

July 14, 2022 Darrin Wassom

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This recording was done while location scouting. There is a small lake near our house that, for lack of a better term, punches above its weight when it comes to wildlife diversity. It is one of my favorite spots for birding. While it is a named lake (Perch Lake) on a named road (Perch Lake Road), it is still off the beaten path so there is a very good chance that you will be the only one there at any given time.

The lake is essentially in a bowl and surrounded by rolling hills on all sides, which seems to be a great conduit for wildlife. It is not uncommon to hear turkeys in the distance, deer crashing through the brush and the calls of at least 7-10 birds. For a fairly isolated location, the birds come in close, which you will hear in this recording.

My drop rig recording setup when using the Zoom H5 and my DIY SASS microphone.

This session was recorded using the Zoom H5. This is actually the first serious recording device I ever purchased and while it is considered entry-level and lacking a lot of features, it has always treated me well. The H5 doesn’t get used as much as it used to but it is great for scouting locations. I can use a drop rig and come back the next day to see if the location conducive to more in-depth recordings. I’m hesitant to call this recording a success because it is ripe with road noise (subtle but present) but the sheer number of different birds featured makes it a worthwhile listen, IMHO.

I built this microphone using plans from Acoustic Nature. This is a view of the left side, which shows 2 EM272 microphones. There are two on the right side as well and the design is triangle shaped.

Partial Bird Listing

- Tufted Titmouse

- Turkey

- Black-capped Chickadee

- American Robin

- Red-winged Blackbird (quite vocal too)

- Northern Cardinal

- Mourning Dove

- Eastern Kingbird

- Northern Flicker

- Red-eyed Vireo

- Ovenbird

- Whip-poor-will

There is a lot going on in this recording so I’m certain I missed a few bird calls so please let me know what you heard! You will also hear wings flapping and a strange splash a couple of times in the recording. Any guesses what that could have been??

Recording Summary