Ballyfad Wood

During spring 2024 I regularly visited Ballyfad woods, sometimes to walk the various paths, sometimes to prepare the place for recording by cutting low branches in places I would need to have clear for setting up the equipment in the early mornings. I was most interested in recording down the south-west end, as this is the part that has a small valley, is only 2.9 Kilometres from the M11 motorway. Though I have known Ballyfad wood for a very long time as it is not far from where I live, it is only after new paths had been opened up that I discovered this small valley, it has some huge Beech and oak trees with a small pond in one part. Back in 1992-1993 in the north end of the woods is where I recorded ‘Aubade’ (and done research on the dawn chorus). Basically it is too close to the road to successfully record there now, however at the bottom of the valley, most of any noise in the area would not reach the bottom, also I thought, if I only record when there is a drift of air going against any noise from the M11, then it was worth a try, so over that spring I made many recordings, sometimes with three recording rigs, at the time I didn’t think I had had much success, however it is always the case that I am most critical of the recordings made the morning I make them, it seems it is tiredness that makes me feel I have not achieved anything. However since then I have revisited the recordings and was very surprised at their quality, I felt they were too good to leave them unpublished. This album covers the best eight recordings, cross-faded together into two tracks. Ballyfad wood is in the north of county Wexford, near the villages of Coolgreany and Ballyfad and south-west of Arklow, Ireland.