Trumpeter Swans on Lake Ontario, Leslie Spit, Toronto, November

Trumpeter Swans

Several months ago Lucia and I took the trip of a lifetime to Antarctica. After learning some new processing tools and a crazy start to 2022, I'm finally going through my recordings!

This recording was done with two hydrophones draped off either side of our zodiac boat in the middle of a "bergy bits" ice field in Fournier Bay.   The guide was kind enough to shut off the motor for about ten minutes so I could do a sound recording using my hydrophones. 

I certainly didn't realize this before the trip, but the water in Antarctica is full of fun sounds. The glaciers are constantly making noise such as bubbling, crashing, and cracking! There are some ice bits crashing into each other (maybe calving) and I think even an echo in the water from said crash earlier in the recording. I didn't notice any animal sounds other than a friendly zodiac coming by to say hello. You can hear the  motor from the boat approaching and changing speeds.

Here are some technical details about the recording:
- Recording Date: 2021.12.16
- Location: Fournier Bay, Antarctica
- Audio Interface: Sound Devices MixPre3-II
- Rate, Depth: 192kHz, 32-bit float
- Gain: 65bB
- Hydrophones: Aquarian H2a-XLR (9-meters long)

Processing done with iZotope RX 9 (de-click and spectral repair) and Reaper (normalizing and fade-in/out).

Sounds of an Ice Field Underwater in Fournier Bay

The song of my favorite bird captured with incredible detail by the Telinga Modular with two EM272 capsules installed in stereo configuration.

Distance from the wood thrush was about 7 meters.

Telinga Modular Review: https://acousticnature.com/journal/telinga-modular-parabolic-microphone-review

Wood Thrush Song | Telinga Modular Parabolic Microphone

Into the darkness

These recordings were made with deep respect in the country of the Ngarrindjeri peoples.

With respect, with sadness, with hope. Everything here has changed; except for the sound of the ocean. Where the waters meet, is where the sounds merge. The sound of the ocean, permeating all, remains the same.

Unprocessed excerpts from original recordings. (Listening with good quality headphones - preferably open-backed - with a flat frequency response is recommended.)

An Afterword: I am deeply pleased and honoured that the original recordings from which this piece was composed have found a perfect home in Megan Spencer's important and heartfelt podcast, 'Bringing His Spirit Home: Private Arthur Thomas Walker, Ngarrindjeri ANZAC', as immersive field recordings made in, and expressing the natural spirit of, Arthur Thomas Walker's home country. This educational podcast is one of four produced by Megan, commissioned by the Virtual War Memorial Australia, and can be heard here: https://vwma.org.au/education/bringing-his-spirit-home-private-arthur-thomas-walker-ngarrindjeri-anzac.

Some of my earlier Kurangk/Coorong recordings have also been happily woven into Megan's related podcast, 'Walking in Two Worlds: The WW1 Story of Ngarrindjeri ANZACs Cryril & Rufus Rigney', which can be heard here: https://vwma.org.au/education/podcast--walking-in-two-worlds--the-ww1-story-of-ngarrindjeri-anzacs-cyril-rufus-rigney.

@Bandcamp

2022.10.09 From the Mouth of Murrundi to Goolwa Beach. Kumerangk, Kurangk. Night to Dawn. Spring.

It Only Took A Single Breath

A lovely pre-dawn chorus in southwestern New Mexico, near the Gila and Aldo Leopold Wildernesses.  Features American Robin, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Mexican Spotted Owl, Common Nighthawk, Hermit Thrush, Mexican Whippoorwill, and listen close for the barking of the Elegant Trogon.  Much of this area was burned in a wildfire in 2022.

Rocky Canyon pre-dawn_150603

The rhythmic sounds of cicadas and frogs combine in a rich dusk chorus in the rainforest of Ulu Muda, Malaysia.

Ulu Muda

Dusk Chorus - Ulu Muda

Dusk Chorus - Ulu Muda, Malaysia

April 20, 2019. The recording begins at 7.37 in the morning. I really like diversity of birds in Matsalu but recording is somewhat difficult because there are no natural obstacles (thick forest or mountains) to preventing noise from the roads. It's not technically pure clean recording. It's a sketch, the groundwork, note in my audio notebook.

A walk through the landscape of Matsalu National Park, Estonia.

INNER THEME

Recorded in late May, 2018. Springtime dawn chorus in Minnesota's Chippewa National Forest.

Sounds of an Ice Field Underwater in Fournier Bay

Blair Conner

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