Capturing Wildlife Sounds: A Useful Guide

Roger Boughton Steven Shepard - Capturing Wildlife Sounds - book coverSome of you will know the ‘Overseas Representative’* on our committee, Roger Boughton. Roger is the co-author of a new book on the art of wildlife sound recording. With decades of hard-won experience, he is a most authoritative and dedicated recordist.

I warmly recommend Roger and Stevens’ book –  it is a privilege to be able to share in their wisdom.

Here’s the publication announcement:


Roger Boughton (Lancashire, UK) and Steven Shepard (Vermont, USA) are pleased to announce the publication of their new book, “Capturing Wildlife Sounds: A Useful Guide.” Written primarily for beginning wildlife sound recordists, the book is a comprehensive primer on the craft of capturing the sounds of the natural world.

“We wanted to produce a book,” says Boughton, “that would provide all the information necessary for a beginning sound recordist to get started, in the same way that a nature photography primer does for a budding nature photographer.”

The book covers a wide range of topics, including the basic science behind the recording process, the fieldcraft required to work closely with wildlife without disturbing them, the various ways in which sound recording can be put to use, as well as an introduction to gear—recorders, microphones, headphones, and other equipment.

“It’s our hope,” says Shepard, “that readers will take up the hobby and get as much enjoyment and satisfaction from capturing the wonderful, interesting, surprising and new sounds that nature has to offer, as we have done.

“The sounds of the natural world are every bit as important, every bit an indicator, of the health of the planet. You don’t have to see a creature to know it’s there; in fact, we hear far more than we see. Our goal is to help people become more aware of the sounds of the world around them that they all-too-often don’t notice, and show them how to capture a record of it.”

Capturing Wildlife Sounds: A Useful Guide” is now available on Amazon. A Kindle version is positioned for imminent release.

Roger Boughton is a UK-based sound recordist and wildlife photographer. He can be reached at roger@wildlife-sound.com, and samples of his work can be seen and heard at his Web site, momentoftime.co.uk.  Steven Shepard is a USA-based writer, photographer and amateur wildlife sound recordist. He can be reached at Steve@ShepardComm.com. His Podcast, The Natural Curiosity Project, is on iTunes and SoundCloud.

* The Australian Wildlife Sound Recording Group maintains close links with the UK’s Wildlife Sound Recording Society (WSRS), hence we have a liaison position on our committee. The original formation of the AWSRG was in part inspired by what the WSRS were doing in England, with several recordists of both this country and the UK being active members of both groups – Roger prominent among them.

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