Wildlife Listening Devices

Microphone

• The long tube of the shotgun microphone has openings in calculated positions that cancel out peripheral sounds. This is an excellent choice for beginners because it is very easy to carry and set up. The parabolic dish microphone uses a dish to focus sound from a wider area to the microphone, but it is bulky. In order to pick up low frequencies the dish must be fairly large. There are mono and tri-pods so these microphones can be set up at a distance from the listener.

Wind Protection

• The majority of microphones have a foam windshield, but these are not designed for outdoor use and do not reduce the sound of wind on their own. Synthetic fur windgags fit over the foam and decrease the amount of wind that reaches the microphone without inhibiting the other natural sounds. This balance is achieved by the furry exterior diffusing the winds energy and creating a small area of still air around the microphone.

Headphones

• The headphones work together with the microphone to concentrate and amplify the sound for the benefit of the listener. The microphone will hear a great deal of sounds the unaided ear will not be able to catch, and without headphones a lot can be missed until listening to the recording later. Whether the sound is being recorded or not, headphones are a worthwhile investment to enhance each listening experience.

Recorder

• The sound of wildlife is generally much weaker and less cooperative than human speech and song. Hissing and other noises in the recording robs a lot of the beauty from the soundtrack. A good digital recorder captures a wide range of sounds and stores it cleanly so the file can later be transferred to a computer for editing. In environments like a marsh that are full of sounds long, continuous recordings are the best ways to capture infrequently heard sounds.