What equipment do you need to start wildlife sound recording?

The links below will help you choose the right recording equipment for you, whether you have a few hundred pounds/dollars or thousands to spend. Select the links below and they will guide you thought what to look for. Also take a look at theBeginners guide to wildlife sound recording. You can also read somereviews of equipment used by WSRS members.

For anyone interested in wildlife/field sound recording Ian Smith has produced an excellent set of videos tutorials, that will help you to get started:
Field Recording - A Technical Introduction

Recorder; One of the two most important items of equipment. Most recorders these days are digital using solid state medium such as an SD or Flash card to record on to. They need not be expensive if you are starting out.

What to look for in a Field Microphone Probably the most important recording item of equipment, like the lens on a camera, the better quality microphone you have the better recordings you will make. But there are some very inexpensive microphones that will do an excellent job for the beginner.

Desktop Audio Workstation (DAW); (Editing Software) Once you have spent hours in the field recording your subject, you will need to play and edit your recordings, the easiest way to do this is on a computer using a DAWs programme. There a good number programmes you can choose from, some are free, others can cost you thousands of pounds/dollars.

Cables; If you wish to place your mics some way from your recorder, then you will need shielded cables. Depending on your recorder and microphone, you may need either a 2 or 3 cord cable per microphone, or 5 core if you are recording in stereo.

Windshield; One of the biggest problems recording outside is the wind, you will need to protect your microphone from the wild using a wind shield.

Headphones; a must if you wish to monitor what you are recording.

Tripod; To cut down on handling noise, it is very useful to mount your microphones on a tripod.

SD or Flash Card; Most recorder now use either one of these types of digital storage. It is worth getting the largest and fastest card your recorder will handle, and buy a reputable make.

Bag;with all the gear listed above, you will need something to carry it all in.