This recording was made in a domestic garden on the outskirts of Kirkcaldy, Fife in June 2012. As you may have guessed from the title the prominent sounds are bees, birds (the loudest I think is a song thrush) and the ‘bikes’ are motorbikes.

I attached a spaced pair of small omni-directional microphones on some branches just under the canopy of an old cotoneaster bush that was just coming into flower – hence its popularity with the bees that were present in large numbers around the garden, surprising given the recent concerns about population decline. This microphone placement gives the perception of depth to the soundscape: the closeness and immediacy of the bees, the more distant but present thrush and the still further away motorbikes (and aeroplane of course).

I like the way the sound of the motorbike engine mimics the buzzing bees, like a giant bee flying around in the distance.