A blackbird sings boldly into the enclosed courtyard of this hotel in Budapest. Around him, the city gets ready for the evening. The wind blows some paper cups in the cobbled floor and then some people get chairs ready.

I was in Hungary to do some bird recording, so I had an SD702 and MKH30/40 mics. I wrote this post some fifteen years after recording him, but I still remember a magical urban moment. This male used the echo of the courtyard to amplify his song, the resonance adds richness to his tone.

He was in what looks like an ash tree in this enclosed courtyard. It goes another floor down into a cobbled floor that I couldn’t get in the photo, it’s stitched from four. Towards the end the hotel staff get ready to set out some tables and chairs.

I had another charming urban field recording moment in Hungary. These women broke into song in the marbled hall of Ferihegy I as I waited for the return flight. That airport was a throwback to when flight was glamorous, and the resonance added to the song.

location on radio aporee