Leader Details

Tom Graves I started birding while I was majoring in biology at Cal State, Northridge. I went on to become a Physical Therapist, but continued birding after graduation and, with a DIY spirit, I converted a wooden salad bowl into a dish microphone with a cheap tape recorder. I simply wanted to ID the songs by comparing my recordings to my Peterson's CD field guide. In 1995 I called the phone number in the booklet that came with the CDs. I spoke with Greg Budney who is now the Audio Curator of the Library of Natural Sounds at Cornell University. I asked about proper field recorders, and on his advice, I looked up Stith Recording. I started with a Marantz PMD 222 cassette recorder, and an omnidirectional microphone with a 24-inch parabola. I switched to a Marantz PMD 661 digital recorder and added a short shotgun microphone in 2012. I've been uploading my recordings to xeno-Canto for several years now, and include links to my recordings to slocobirding: many people include links to their photos, why not audio recordings?