Bird Enthusiasts

Sound Shark with a hybrid camera

Long-Range Microphone For Bird Watching

The Sound Shark microphone is ideal for capturing bird songs. Its long range allows bird-watching videographers to record their favorite birds from afar by recording audio that matches the close-up shots of the birds being filmed. With the Sound Shark, bird-watching filmmakers can produce videos that truly transport viewers into the bird's world.

Bird-watching experts know that a telephoto lens is essential for getting close-up shots of elusive birds, but if your audio sounds too distant, your video can be ruined. The Sound Shark is the perfect solution, providing the audio quality you need to match your great video footage.

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For Video Production Educators

Most high schools and colleges have video production programs, and sports at both levels are often broadcast or streamed. Unfortunately, many of these educational programs have limited budgets for audio equipment, which can lead to poor audio quality in their productions.

The Sound Shark is a budget-friendly microphone that can drastically improve the audio of your productions. With its greater range and focus than a shotgun microphone, the Sound Shark can provide on-field sounds that a shotgun mic just can't match. This can greatly improve the audio portion of your video production.

The Sound Shark is used to broadcast or stream classes, meetings, special programs, plays, and even sporting events. However, due to their extreme sensitivity, they are not well-suited for sound reinforcement/PA systems.

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Bird songs captured by a Sound Shark!

Chris Dale - Tree Swallow: “Here is a short video taken a couple of days ago using the Sound Shark to record these Tree Swallows from about 10 – 15 meters away in the Squamish River Estuary”
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale - Varied Thrush: “The Varied Thrush was filmed from about 75 feet away.”
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale - Swainson's Thrush: “Probably the easiest bird to hear in the Squamish River Estuary but also the hardest to spot out in the open." Filmed from about 65 feet away.
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale - Western Meadowlark: “... videos were taken from 100 feet away from the birds.”
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale: “The Swainson’s Thrush was taken from about 30 to 40 feet away”
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale - Dark-eyed Junco: “Taken from about 10 metres ( about 30 feet ) away”
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale - House Wren: “... taken from about 20 feet away.”
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale: “Here is another video taken near Penticton of a Pygmy Nuthatch excavating a nest hole.  This video was taken from about 18 metres ( 60 feet ) away.”
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale - Marsh Wren: “... taken from about 30 feet away.”
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale: “MacGillivray's Warbler Singing in the Squamish River Estuary on a very windy day. ... taken from about 5 meters away.”
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale: “Here is another short video I made of a singing Western Meadowlark last weekend using the Sound Shark.  I was on the opposite side of a road and about 30 feet below the bird so I was probably 50 – 60 feet away from the subject.  I have been getting YouTube comments from viewers on how clear the sound recording was.”
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale - Say’s Phoebe: “I just got back from four nights in Penticton which is in the interior of British Columbia. The area is desert like and has different birds there compared to the coast of B.C. where I live.  ... videos were taken from about 30 meters ( 100 feet ) away from the birds.”
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale - White-crowned Sparrow: “... taken from about 10 meters away.”
(Watch on YouTube)

Nature photographer / cinematographer Eric Williamson has captured several wonderful videos for his ShutterTraxs website.  He was kind enough to share one of his videos.  Eric said he was approximately 75 feet from the nest.
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale - Hairy Woodpecker: “... taken from about 10 meters away.”
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale - Barred Owl: “the American Robins mobbing the Barred Owl were all around in the forest from 10 to 40 feet away but the sound Shark did an excellent job of recording their chirps.”
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale - Trumpeter Swans: “Sound Shark audio but only synchronized with the video when the swans were eating the grass from about 20 meters (60 feet) away”
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale - Northern Saw-whet Owl: “Ducks quacking in front of me and Downy Woodpecker and Pine Siskins in the trees above and Bald Eagles calling about a half kilometer (.3 miles ) away”
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale - Bald Eagles: “Most of the eagles in the video were a bout 100 meters away on a gravel bar but the sounds were coming from eagles in the trees close to me as well as across the river about 400 meters away. I think there is only one scene where the eagle in view was making a sound the rest of the calls were made by the eagles further away in the trees. I had my headphones on while I filmed and the sound of the eagles and ducks in the river was amazing.” (Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale - “Just got back from Penticton in the interior of British Columbia and took this video of nesting Red-necked Grebes that I thought you might like. The video was taken from about 15 meters away or about 50 feet. Other than the one scene of the grebes interacting, most of the background sounds are bird sounds and rain drops falling on the lake, and all were recorded with the Sound Shark.”
(Watch on YouTube)

Nature photographer Marco Valk captured this video of Surf Scoter ducks taking flight in Alaska from about 100 meters away. The first thing Mr. Valk mentioned, after receiving his Sound Shark Kit in the Netherlands, was how much it had reduced his wind noise.
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale - “Here is a short video of a pair of Red-throated Loons calling. Taken this morning ( July 15, 2023 ) at Alice Lake Provincial Park from about 100 meters away and using the Sound Shark.”
(Watch on YouTube)

Chris Dale - “Here is another one that I took this morning of a Swainson’s Thrush from about 15 metres or 50 feet away.  Probably the most often heard but least seen bird in the Squamish Estuary at this time of the year.  Very hard to find one out in the open to get a video.”
(Watch on YouTube)

National Geographic Explorer, and Fullbright Fellow, Robert A Boyd III used a Sound Shark to capture audio for his project in Barbados.  He provided some test clips and an introduction of his project all captured by his Sound Shark.

Nature photographer Marco Valk captured this video of screaming bald eagles with a Lumix GH5, Saramonic Smartrig+ and a Sound Shark parabolic microphone.  Valk estimated the distance at 200+ meters but the audio delay indicates the distance was actually much greater.  The effective focal length was 1960mm.  In his words “Impressive sound! (straight from the camera)”(Watch on Facebook)

Our good friend, and ambassador, Dan Weecks, created this side-by-side comparison of a Sound Shark and a Rode NTG2 shotgun microphone, recording birds on a light pole from approximately 60 feet away.  There are more side-by-side comparisons on our video gallery page.
(Watch on YouTube)

The solution to my bird song identification problems!

I had been trying to use my iPhone with apps (BirdNET, Merlin, Song Sleuth) to identify my local forest birds. These apps allow you to use your phone to record calls and then offer ID suggestions. But it didn’t work – the bird calls were buried in the background noise of the recordings.

I looked into options to improve the recordings of my phone. Professions use parabolic microphones or shotgun mics and a dedicated recorder – kits costing thousands of dollars. DIY options required more audio engineering chops than I had or had time to learn. Even adding an external microphone and adapter could add horrible background hiss if not matched. There was no “Plug and Play” system for recording to a smartphone.

I found the Sound Shark – a portable parabolic receiver/microphone combination. They have great information on their website (kloverproducts.com/sound-shark/us/) and their YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/Sound SharkVideos). I contacted their Customer Service to ask what I would need to connect the Sound Shark to my iPhone and get adequate recordings. My email was quickly answered by the most knowledgeable, attentive Customer Service Rep I’ve encountered. I soon realised the “Rep” was Paul Terpstra, the company owner, and developer of the Sound Shark. Paul worked with me to get the system I wanted, even testing microphones and adapters.

Now, I have a handheld parabolic mic system that plugs into my phone and makes great recordings. We added a phone mount so I can watch the sonogram on the app while I aim the Sound Shark and record.

Sound Shark is a 9” consumer version of a 16” system Paul developed for Fox Sports. Sound Shark Audio (for Consumers)/Klover Products (for Professionals) are great companies. Sound Shark will set you up whether you want to use a smartphone or a dedicated recording system.They make the Sound Shark in Wisconsin, so they are pure, mostly.

Ann E.
Fredericksburg VA

Birding With Lois

We were thrilled to be invited onto “Birding with Lois” to discuss how bird enthusiasts can record bird songs, and how the Sound Shark fits into that effort.

a woman in a Sound Shark T-shirt

Have you used a Sound Shark in a unique way to record bird videos? Share your story with us, and we will send you a Sound Shark T-shirt!

Info

Klover Products
5807 W Fenrick Rd, Janesville, WI 53548, USA
1-(608)-371-5660
(888)-299-9009
sales@Kloverproducts.com

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How To Record Bird Songs
& Animal Sounds

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