Over the last few weeks I have been preparing equipment and looking for a suitable location from which to broadcast the dawn chorus on Sunday 5th May 2024. And I think I have found a great spot...
The dawn broadcast is organised by Reveil and is a 'collaborative sound and radio project that circles the Earth on live audio streams at daybreak. The last broadcast featured 145 streams from a wide range of environments and situations.' I took part in the 10th edition of the stream last year and broadcast from Shotley Gate. It was a wonderful experience and a great way to get out to explore the sounds of the peninsula at a time of day that is often quite alien to us.
For this year's Reveil 11 I wanted to broadcast from Holbrook to link in with my project. A major issue with this is finding a spot with a strong enough mobile signal that could broadcast without any issues. To find a spot I have been walking around with a 'Speedtest' app open and running its connectivity checker. Much of the village is a dead spot for my providor, but I found that the banks of the Stour down at Holbrook Creek has magnificent 5G signal!
I went out to test my set up on a very windy Tuesday and everything seems to work as it should. I will be using some Clippy XLR EM272Z1 mics (with wind protectors), my Zoom F3 as an audio interface and the iziCast app on my phone to transmit whatever sounds the dawn chorus makes. My final decision on a location is this rather magnificent fallen tree - it should be accessible when I need it (if i have read the tide times correctly...)
My broadcast will take place between 4:30 and 6:00am on Sunday 5th May 2024. There is no guarantee that the global broadcasters will select my stream as part of the 24hr radio show, but it would be nice the think that the sounds of the river Stour could be heard by someone listening in as far away at Brazil or Japan.
I made a test recording down at the creek and have uploaded it as part my 'Listening to the Landscape' podcast. You can listen to the modern sounds of the village I have recorded either on my podcast, or through the media player below.
[This field recording was recorded to showcase the natural sounds heard in a rural setting. It features no human voices. No monies will be made from the recording. Please contact me if you have any concerns]