Seagulls in kent

[Richard Hammarton]

Hi

I'm a sound designer and need to get hold of a recording of seagulls , lots of them , the more the merrier shouting their heads off ! I'm in Kent , any ideas for places nearby that have big colonies ? Preferably ones that aren't next to ports or busy seafronts as I need the recording to be clean of other sound .

Thanks in advance

[Twitcheruth]

Welcome Richard......I don't know the area but what about a local waste tip??

[Richard Hammarton]

Originally Posted by Twitcheruth

Welcome Richard......I don't know the area but what about a local waste tip??

I had the same thought but there was too much traffic noise to be useful unfortunately . It's for a theatre show set in 1820. Thanks for the suggestion though !

[Twitcheruth]

Originally Posted by Richard Hammarton

I had the same thought but there was too much traffic noise to be useful unfortunately . It's for a theatre show set in 1820. Thanks for the suggestion though !

Ah yes of course.......hopefully someone with more local knowledge than me will come along to help you Richard.

[RoyW__]

You may have some luck if you try visiting any seafront location early in the morning (before there is too much other noise) and work the gulls into a frenzy by throwing large quantities of food out for them - bread would do, but isn't particularly nutritious for them, waste from a friendly fishmongers would be better!

Alternatively, you might find that some of the recordings here would suit you (the best one may be the third recording down, or perhaps the sixth one, which has a little background noise would do). There is no reason why you couldn't combine two or more recordings, or repeat the same one if you need a longer recording.
All recordings on xeno-canto are under a non-attributable Wikipedia Commons licence (it's in the terms and conditions), so you are free to use them without breaching copyright, and do not need to credit the recorder (though you can if you are able to).

[astafjevs]

Roy's suggestion is a good one, but watch out for local byelaws. I wanted to give the remains of my fish and chips at Aldeburgh beach yesterday to the friendly herring gull who not only waited patiently but also chased all the other gulls off, but I'd have been risking a £2,500 fine if I had.

A quiet beach or seafront would be my suggestion. You don't need many gulls to make a racket!

[erichopton]

Originally Posted by Richard Hammarton

Hi

I'm a sound designer and need to get hold of a recording of seagulls , lots of them , the more the merrier shouting their heads off ! I'm in Kent , any ideas for places nearby that have big colonies ? Preferably ones that aren't next to ports or busy seafronts as I need the recording to be clean of other sound .

Thanks in advance

You could try Freesound.org - Freesound.org a massive database of sounds mostly under creative commons licenses. Go to the 'sounds' section and search for seagulls. There are over 200. This is a great resource with many bird sounds and virtually any sound you need.