This dataset contains natural soundscape recordings from a woodland near Alice Holt Lodge Pond, Surrey, UK, collected as part of the AHRC-funded Sensing the Forest project (AH/X011585/2). Recordings were made automatically four times a day aligned to solar time — at sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the midpoint between sunset and sunrise. The recording system is a solar-powered DIY Raspberry Pi audio streamer designed by Luigi Marino. Prior to 28 February 2025, recordings used MEMS microphones; from that date onward, audio quality improved significantly following an upgrade to RØDE LavalierGO microphones with a RØDE AI-Micro audio interface. The woodland is dominated by Corsican pine (planted as a crop in 1992) with mixed broadleaf species including oak, sweet chestnut, birch, and willow. Wildlife present includes roe deer, muntjac deer, bats, and a variety of bird species such as common chiffchaff, coal tit, Eurasian wren, European robin, long-tailed tit, Eurasian blue tit, Eurasian treecreeper, Eurasian siskin, buzzard, and tawny owl. The full dataset is divided into two parts due to file size constraints. This record contains Part 1 of 2, covering recordings from August 2024 to March 2025. Please refer to the linked companion record for Part 2 (March 2025 – August 2025). All audio files are in WAV format and are released under Creative Commons 0 (CC0 1.0 — Public Domain). The original sounds are also available on Freesound at: https://freesound.org/people/sensingtheforest/packs/42937/ For more information about the project, visit: https://sensingtheforest.github.io