Soundscapes

Always underestimate how beautiful this song actually is but I never seen to be able to get within close range of them singing. I'll have to make more of an effort next season as it really is a fantastic song. 

Gear: Sound Devices Mixpre 6 ii / Schoeps CCM 4 / Telinga Dish / CCM 2's

Gavin Vella

Linnet Song - Mixpre 4419

The Empress cicada starts calling as the sun sets, just as daytime birds are winding down their calls and nighttime creatures are waking up. You first hear distant ones, and it almost sounds like some industrial metal cutting process. Long version at https://youtu.be/6ZPDYlvj7MM

The weird sound of the Empress cicada

I never set out to record the sound of an elephant farting in the African savanna, but here we are so let's be adults about it. Long version at https://youtu.be/q8JdMIp6H78

Elephant farting in the African savanna

Chorus of endemic treefrogs of Taiwan :
莫氏樹蛙 Rhacophorus moltrechti Boulenger, 1908.
台北樹蛙 Rhacophorus taipeianus Liang & Wang, 1978.

Recorded near Jiaping Camp, Yilan County, Taiwan.
13.04.2024 20:40
Sony PCM-D100 + Primo EM272

240413 treefrog chorus, Jiaping, Yilan, Taiwan

Calls of Munjtac deer :
山羌 Muntiacus reevesi (Ogilby, 1839)

Also a chorus of endemic treefrogs of Taiwan :
莫氏樹蛙 Rhacophorus moltrechti Boulenger, 1908.
台北樹蛙 Rhacophorus taipeianus Liang & Wang, 1978.

Recorded near Jiaping Camp, Yilan County, Taiwan.
14.04.2024 04:50
Sony PCM-D100 + Primo EM272

240414 Muntjac deer with tree frogs chorus, Jiaping, Yilan, Taiwan

On a recent family visit to the Lake District (UK) I was awakened every morning by this fella. I admired his commitment. On the quieter Easter Sunday morning I went out to record him, just as the bells of Holy Trinity Church stroke 6am.

Species: Song thrush (Turdus philomelos)
Date & time of recording: 31 March 2024, 05:57 AM
Location: Chapel Stile, Cumbria, UK
Habitat: Heathland
Gear: Sennheiser MKH 8040+30 in MS + MKH8040 on parabolic dish, Sound Devices 744T

Song Thrush Of Chapel Stile

This is quite a rare recording where the infrasound of the lekking male capercaillie is clearly audible. This infrasound is thought to be an indication of male quality and the two bands of 35 Hz and 55 Hz probably travel much longer in the forest than the rest of lek. When males utter their infrasounds just after the "plop" they go temporarily blind so it must be quite exhausting to produce. The males go directly under my microphone and the "crisp" sounds are from dry reindeer moss.

Skogstibble. April 21, 2023.

Mixpre 3ii + AudioTechnica BP4025

Infrasound in lekking capercaillie

A few green frogs recorded in the village of Saint-Silvain-sous-Toulx (Creuse, France) around a watering place near a vegetable garden. In the distance, to the left, other, much more numerous frogs, subjects of another recording.
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Quelques grenouilles vertes (grenouilles communes) dans le village de Saint-Silvain-sous-Toulx (Creuse, France) autour d'un point d'eau près du potager de la maraichère. Au loin, à gauche, d’autres grenouilles bien plus nombreuses sujets d’un autre enregistrement.
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46,26195° N, 2,18256° E
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(Zoom F3, Sennheiser MKH8040, ORTF)

240413 · 9:00 pm · Grenouilles Vertes · Green Frogs (Creuse, France)

A little further on than the previous recording, a hidden pond with many more frogs.
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Un peu plus loin que le précédent enregistrement, un étang caché avec bien plus de grenouilles.
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Saint-Silvain-sous-Toulx (Creuse, France) 46,26339° N, 2,18290° E
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(Zoom F3, MKH8040, ORTF)

240413 · 10:00 pm ·  Grenouilles Vertes · Green Frogs (Creuse, France)

Summer has passed, winter is approaching. Until the rains return, the creek is dry, but pools of water remain, here and there, where a few Bibron's Toadlets linger, croaking with a sound somewhat like glass marbles grating and rattling against one another. Small birds flutter down to drink water. Particular birds sighted were Grey Fantails and Red-capped Robins. If you listen carefully, you will hear the sounds of the water as they drink, while hovering in mid-air. Birds heard in the distance include Crimson Rosellas and Grey Currawongs.

A small token towards Earth Day 2024. Macrocosms are woven only out of microcosms. If the microcosms are well, the macrocosm will be well. An unattended recording made with a pair of FEL Clippies (Primo EM172s), draped, hanging, from a branch near the pool, into an F3. Occasional contact sounds are small birds landing on adjoining branches, and sometimes perhaps the branch from which the microphones dangle.

A shorter excerpt from this longer recording, focusing on the sounds of the water as the small birds drink, has also posted here, at https://soundcloud.com/hearingbeings/20240406-small-birds-drinking-water-from-a-small-pool-autumn-excerpt.

Recorded with respect upon the land of the Kaurna people.

2024.04.06 Small Birds Drinking Water from a Small Pool. Autumn. (Long Version)

I got to spend December 2023 recording in several jungle locations in Costa Rica. The experience was wonderful and inspiring. Most of the trip was spent on Osa Peninsula, in lodges that bordered Parque Nacional Corcovado (Corcovado National Park). With nearly 2.5% of the world's species represented, many of them endemic, it is  recognized as one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet.

On the same morning as the previous  Midnight Chorus recording https://soundcloud.com/soundeziner/cr-fincasueno-midnightchorus, a troop of Golden Mantled Howler Monkeys greeted the Dawn and their neighbors (and the rest of the jungle) the only way they know how. Male mantled howlers have an enlarged hyoid bone, a hollow amplifying bone near their vocal cords that gives the ability to generate great "howling"  calls that can heard for kilometers.  Howling allows the monkeys to exercise territory and remain in contact  without expending energy through movement or bearing the risks of physical confrontation. As someone who likes little more than sitting in a forest listening to nature speak, I approve of this lazing behavior.

While this howling is their most well-known vocal characteristic, I'm rather fond of the popping and grunting that warms up to the howl and pads the time in between. It's relatively quiet, and is most noticeable only when near the vocalizing howler. The best description of it that I can think of is like the "vocal fry" not uncommon in many of today's pop singers. Check it out near the start of the first round of howling around 2:40 (link in the comments)

After a first round of loud howls, the group takes a break. With what is known about Mantled Howler activity, they're likely sleeping, or maybe eating. After 20-is minutes, they pick up again for a brief session before settling back down. It's possible they've been moving during this time as they're quieter during this round. Finally, just before Sunrise at 05:38 in the morning, they pick up again, slowly building and then tapering off after nearly 30 minutes of vocal exercising.

After speaking with other recordists, I know I am far from alone as someone who loves their sound, but I I may be one of the few that enjoys waking up to their calls. Every morning I heard this in the distance or nearby was a morning I walked out to breakfast with a big silly grin on my face.

Another voice that has become a personal favorite is the Yellow-throated Toucan, with their rhythmic, bouncing song that seems to carry on forever. There is at least one singing for most of this recording, but you can get your first good listen behind the Howlers at 53:27 or skip ahead to 1:06:02 to hear two singing at each other.

Hummingbirds are abundant, and you'll hear their buzzing wings fly by and around the microphones numerous times. Also coming and going are raucous and noisy Scarlet Macaws and Red-lored Parrots, a lone Red-eyed Tree Frog, a visiting Little Tinamou, and more. 

I'll point out a few voices along the way in the comments, but I'm out of my depth when it comes to identifying neotropical birds, so I'll largely let the ecosystem speak for itself. Feel free to poke around with links in the comments to scoot around the recording, or just let it play out over your morning coffee like I do.

Feel like seeing some fancy colors? I've been playing at visualizing soundscapes lately. Check out the video for this recording on YouTube: https://youtu.be/duxU2INkyXI?si=xhIrgiHiOSOk922l

AMNS Costa Rica 01

Golden Mantled Howlers at Dawn

Crested caracara (Caracara plancus)
Background species Southern Lapwing and...

Location: Perito Moreno National Park, Santa Cruz, Argentina
Date and time: 16 January 2010, 7:25 AM

Crested Caracara, Perito Moreno National Park

Accompanied by Starlings, Reed Warblers, distant corvids

Grasshopper Warblers

Named after their distinctive banjo-like calls, Eastern Banjo Frogs (Limnodynastes dumerilii) [also known as Pobblebonks!] are a type of burrowing frog found in South-eastern Australia. Males of the species produce a single 'bonk' note, with other individuals often calling in response. After periods of rain Banjo Frogs are most active and vocal, and in this recording dozens of individuals can be heard creating a unique soundscape at a small dam surrounded by woodland in north-east Victoria.

The full 46 minute album is available for download from https://wildambience.com/albums/pobblebonk-dam/

Pobblebonk Dam

Download

'Pobblebonk Dam', Recorded in Chiltern NP, Victoria, Australia

This gentle summer soundscape, featuring bees, grasshoppers and crickets, was recorded in an open meadow near the Col de Châtillon at an altitude of 1680 metres above sea level. 

Sony PCM D100
Recorded 27.08.19

Summer Insect Chorus - Col de Châtillon, Haute-Savoie, France

Cold snap as resulted in many species falling silent again so I'm back to the good and faithful Robin! who doesn't let anything get in the way of defending their territory. 

Gear: Sound Devices Mixpre 6 ii + Schoeps CCM 4 / Telinga Dish / Lom Usi Pro

Robin Full Song - MixPre - 3763.WAV

Sound recordist Colin Hunter 
Founder of the World Sounds project

My Bandcamp:
https://bandcamp.com/stefandrescher

Upcoming gigs:

15.04.23
Trance Mission to the Future  - Dresden
https://www.goabase.net/de/party/gaggalacka-trancemission-to-the-future/110225

28.04.23
HiTech Department - Leipzig
https://www.goabase.net/de/party/hitech-department-behind-the-abyss/110307

19.05.23
Adriana in Psy - Noiss

27.05.2023
Consido & Friends Pfingstival

23.06.2023
Something Beautiful Open Air

04.09.2023
Gaggalacka Festival 

04.11.2023
Miraculous Journey meets Something Beatifull @ Hühnermanhattan Club.

17.11.23 Kalif Storch meets Gaggalacka - Erfurt

Summer Insect Chorus - Col de Châtillon, Haute-Savoie, France

World-Sounds.org

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