Blog Archives

A new series of Nature starts on BBC Radio 4, Tuesday 4 February, 11.02am, presented by and featuring wildlife sound recordings by Chris Watson.

Nature, BBC Radio 4 Tue 4 Feb, 11.02am Islands of Ice and Fire

In the first of new series of Nature, we join wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson in Iceland. When it comes to dynamic landscapes, there’s perhaps nowhere in the world more exciting than Iceland; with it vast groaning glaciers, spouting geysirs, thundering glacial waterfalls, hissing thermal vents and erupting volcanoes – and it’s the sounds of this landscape which Chris is keen to capture. But there are other sounds too; and on a hillside behind Husavik on the North coast Chris is astonished by the density of birds ; snipe, whimbrel, redwing, golden plover and redshank “ At first, it’s not apparent when you just look round, but what you really need to do is just listen” he says.

Presenter Chris Watson, Producer Sarah Blunt

Nature – BBC Radio 4 Tue 11 Feb, 11.02am Arctic Terns at 66 degrees North
In the second of three programmes about the natural history of Iceland, Chris goes in search of Arctic Terns – which travel to Iceland from Antarctica to breed; the longest regular migration of any animal. Some birds travel even further – to the Arctic circle, and so on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, Chris takes a 3 hour ferry journey to the island of Grimsey which lies on the Arctic Circle to see and record some of these remarkable long distance migrants; birds which see more daylight than any other creature, as they enjoy a southern summer and then a northern summer each year.

Presenter Chris Watson, Producer Sarah Blunt

NATURE BBC Radio 4 Tue 18 Feb 11.02am In search of Humpback whales
Every year between January and April, Humpback whales from all around the North Atlantic Ocean gather in an area called Silver Bank 100km north of the Dominican Republic to breed. After calving, the whales migrate north from these lower latitudes to their high latitude, summer feeding grounds.

In June, Chris travelled to Husavik on the north coast of Iceland where he joined a whale watching trip to look for Humpback whales on their summer feeding grounds – and perhaps even see some of the same animals which he had recorded on their breeding grounds earlier in the year.

Presenter Chris Watson, Producer Sarah Blunt

BBC Radio 4, Fri 15 Nov at 11.02am

To mark the centenary of Benjamin Britten’s birth, wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson follows in the footsteps of the composer, presenting a soundscape based on the daily walks which Britten took around Aldeburgh to reflect on his morning’s work.
Presenter and wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, Producer Sarah Blunt

Throughout October, Chris Watson presents Tweet of the Day for BBC Radio 4

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Radio 4 Tweet of the Day is a series of 90 second episodes broadcast on BBC Radio 4, every weekday Monday – Friday.

Each Radio 4 Tweet of the Day begins with a different call or song of a British species, followed by a story of fascinating ornithology inspired by the sound. The series will run for a year, amounting to 265 episodes in total, narrated by wildlife presenters.
Not only will the series feature songs or calls which you are likely to hear each month, but also offers a fascinating insight into the behaviour or habits of the bird, their literary or folklore associations, stories of science or conservation success.

Working with a team of wildlife sound recordists, Gary Moore, Geoff Sample, and Chris Watson as well as recordings from the Natural History Unit Sound Archive, this series written and produced by the BBC Natural History Unit is a wildlife treat.

You can read Chris’s blog here

BBC Radio 4

9th October 11am

Sound recordist Chris Watson captures 24 hours in the life of Newcastle Central Station.
A dynamic and powerful soundscape of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central Station using location recordings to tell a story of 24 hours in the life of this station – from the spring solo of a robin at dawn on the street outside to the pounding roar of the heavy goods trains which thunder along the rails past deserted platforms in the darkness of the night.
Watson regularly travels to and from this station and became fascinated by the sounds and acoustics of the building. So when he was granted permission to record inside, he leapt at the chance, visiting at various times during both day and night over several months, to capture the sounds within; from the quiet crackle of the overhead wires on a misty dawn morning to the terrifying roar and clamour of footballs fans and police dogs when Newcastle were playing at home to Sunderland, and the chanting voices and shouts of the fans overwhelmed even the sounds of the trains.

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central Station was designed by John Dobson and opened by Queen Victoria in 1850.

Presenter: Chris Watson
Producer: Sarah Blunt for the BBC

You can listen to the programme here – Lindesfarne package starts at 32m56s
(and also mentioned on Chris Evans’s BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show was “Inside the Circle of Fire” – see below)
6th July 2013 – 30 September
10am – 4pm daily, Holy Cross Chapel, Durham Cathedral

Throughout human history artists have been influenced by their surroundings and the sounds of the landscape they inhabit.

When Eadfrith, the Bishop of Lindisfarne, was writing and illustrating the Lindisfarne Gospels on that island during the late 7thCentury and early 8thCentury he would have been immersed in the seasonal sounds around the island.

For ‘In St Cuthbert’s Time’, a collaboration with Durham University’s Institute of Advanced Study, and other Durham-based researchers, artist Chris Watson has created a sound installation that reflects the acoustic landscape of that island during the time that the Lindisfarne Gospels were being considered, written and illustrated.

Durham Cathedral’s Holy Cross Chapel provides an inspiring location for quiet reflection and meditation on the sounds St Cuthbert and the other monks would have experienced for themselves.

The installation will run continuously on a loop lasting around forty to fifty minutes and reflect the seasonal changes of a year out on the island. It will be played at a very discrete level as the intention is to create an atmosphere within the Chapel as if the Chapel was on the island and the natural sounds of that place were percolating inside through the two large unglazed windows. The replay level and spatial representation of the work is key to its success.

Visitors will be able to engage in conversation without having to raise their voices, as the sounds will be audible simply at the level they would be experienced in reality. Those who choose to listen will be able to engage with the work in a way which encourages a creative thought process regarding the spirit and sense of place.

The Installation will run from 06 July 2013 – to 30 September 2013, daily between 10am and 4pm.

You can read about it in the Newcastle Journal here, and Living North here.
There is also out now a new album released on Touch to coincide with this event.

The CD is now sold out

Programme link, 19-23 Aug, Mon- Fri, 14.45- 15.00

Wildlife cameraman John Aitchison often finds himself in isolated and even dangerous locations across the globe filming wildlife. In this series he reflects on the uniqueness of human experience, the beauty of nature, the fragility of life and the connections which unite society and nature across the globe as he films Adelie penguins taking their first plunge, encounters some funky chickens in Kansas, discovers the art of patience in the company of polar bears, learns to feel empathy amongst a colony of aggressive fur seals and films one of Nature’s greatest feeding spectacles in the Aleutian islands..

Written and Presented by wildlife cameraman John Aitchison.
Additional sound recordings by Chris Watson and Miles Barton. Produced by Sarah Blunt.