Naturmorgon editorial office is doing for the fourth year in a row a special program entirely devoted to birdsong. Eight hours of live broadcast, where we initially listen to mysterious night singers in the dark, and then welcome new voices into the choir in step with the light. Around dawn, birdsong is usually at its loudest.
The presenters Mats Ottosson and Jenny Berntson Djurvall holds together this marathon broadcast from an outdoor studio in Osaby in Småland.
except from Osaby birdsong is broadcast directly from four locations, from Brånsjön in the north to Krankesjön in the south. At each location there is a reporter and an expert to help guide in what is heard. For long moments we will listen to pure birdsong. In the hour between 04 and 05, only the birds from the different places are heard.
News for the year is a secret microphone. By hearing which birds are making noise there, listeners on Naturmorgon’s social media can guess where the microphone is. Towards the end of the program, the correct answer is revealed.
Here are part one of the night: From 00.02 to 05.00.
The five arenas + the secret one
Osaby in southern Småland
The presenters Jenny Berntson Djurvall and Mats Ottosson is available just like in previous years in Osaby south of Växjö in Småland. The studio is set up under a large old oak tree in a paddock and the ears and microphones are directed towards the lake on one side and the forest on the other. The single snipe may be the first out and then be joined by a rich chorus of thrushes and warblers.
Lake Krankesjön in Skåne
At Lake Krankesjön in Skåne the grunting of the water rattle is mixed with the chirping of reed warblers and pipe warblers. Perhaps the virtuoso marsh warbler has also arrived – it can mimic over 200 bird species. Krankesjön is one of the country’s leading bird lakes, an eldorado for both waterfowl and the singers of the dense foliage. Perhaps the cuckoo can be heard, and the sunny summer goldfinch – a dream bird for many. Ecology professor Susanne Åkesson guides among the bird sounds, together with reporter Lisa Henkow.
Tunaberg in Sörmland
For the third year in a row, reporter is camping Lena Näslund together with Didrik Vanhoenacker, bird watcher and on-call biologist at the National Museum of Natural History. In previous years, they have cycled and canoed. This year they will travel on foot and by bike (and maybe a bit by boat) in The Tunaberg region near Oxelösund in southern Sörmland. They will make their way from Mellsjön, via the restored Långsjön wetland, with the goal of reaching the coast before the program ends. On the way they hope to hear piping plovers, coots, waders, cranes, geese, whooper swans, woodpeckers, warblers and finally eiders and terns.
Kallerö in northern Roslagen
On Kallerö in northern Roslagen found next team: reporter Joachim Lindwall and the ornithologist Martin Green from Swedish Bird Taxation at Lund University. On Kallerö, a peninsula between Forsmark and Östhammar, the lively chorus of the coast’s gulls, terns and waders mixes with the adjacent forests’ warblers, thrushes, flycatchers and perhaps several different species of owls. There is also a chance of the desolate call of the bigmouth from one of the lakes nearby.
Brånsjön outside Vännäs
To the northernmost scene of the night, i Västerbotten, spring has almost arrived. The snow is still around Brånsjön, which is located right where the Vindelälven meets the Ume älv. The shallow lake is an important resting place for many bird species on their way north, but also a popular nesting place. Here is a reporter Jonathan Martinsson together with the bird expert Lars Edenius, which collects sounds from all Västerbotten’s nesting birds. They hope to hear cackling corn geese, trumpeting whooper swans, wailing heather piping plovers and trilling bush warblers. They are also hoping for the ortolan sparrow and Västerbotten’s landscape animal the great sparrow.
Secret microphone
A microphone is placed in a secret place and during the live broadcast the listeners have to guess where it is. The guesses are accepted on Naturmorgon’s social media.
Nature Morning’s birdsong lessons including two new quizzes
Who is that making noise? Naturmorgon’s presenter Mats Ottosson has put together 39 birdsong lessons to listen to before or after Birdsong Night. They are collected here. The two newest lessons are quizzes where you can test your birdsong skills.
Host: Jenny Berntson Djurvall and Mats Ottosson
Reporters: Lisa Henkow, Joacim Lindwall, Lena Näslund and Jonatan Martinsson
Experts: Susanne Åkesson, Didrik Vanhoenacker, Lars Edenius and Martin Green
Digital Editor: Karin Gyllenklev
Producers: Roger Bengtsson and Helena Söderlundh
Technician: Martin Tuomolin, Anders Larsen, Magnus Larsson, Kristoffer Hjälmberg, Lisa Hjernestam, Andreas Tosting, Christian Jangegård, Björn Nitzler and Örjan Bengtzing
Source: ICELAND NEWS