Some selections. May be added to.

(I lived in Tasmania for just over eight years. I left in June 2009. This was my first journey back , after fourteen years. With different ears.)

2023.09.06-29 To Tasmania and Back, by Car

Victorian Smooth Froglets (Geocrinia victoriana), also known as Eastern Smooth Froglets, singing from the margins of a forest pool between bouts of strong wind through the crests of Eucalyptus regnens. Recorded at noon in early Spring in Great Otway National Park, Victoria.

Listening at a low to mid level with good quality headphones (binaural recording) is recommended.

Recorded on the land of the indigenous Gadubanud (Katabanut) peoples.

2023.09.06 Smooth Froglets between the Wind. Early Spring.

A calm and meditative ambience recorded during early evening at the edge of Lake Elizabeth, Great Otway National Park, just before the onset of strong winds followed by heavy rain that continued throughout the night.

Listening at a low to mid level with good quality headphones (preferably open-backed) is recommended. Binaural recording.

Recorded on the land of the indigenous Gadubanud (Katubanut) peoples.

About the recent natural formation of Lake Elizabeth: https://vro.agriculture.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/coranregn.nsf/pages/corangamite_landform_lake_elizabeth

2023.09.07 Lake Elizabeth Quietude 1. Early Spring.

A calm and meditative ambience recorded during the early evening, in a rare still moment prior to heavy rain and high winds, near Lake Elizabeth, Great Otway National Park.

Listening at a low to mid level with good quality headphones (preferably open-backed) is recommended. Binaural recording.

Recorded on the land of the indigenous Gadubanud (Katubanut) peoples.

About the recent natural formation of Lake Elizabeth: https://vro.agriculture.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/coranregn.nsf/pages/corangamite_landform_lake_elizabeth

2023.09.07 Lake Elizabeth Quietude 2. Early Spring.

Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii = "Harris's flesh-lover"). In Palawa Kani, 'Purinina'.* Recorded respectfully on the land of the Tommeginne people.

This is a brief excerpt from a recording made during the night while my daughter and I stayed in a log cabin at Mountain Valley retreat in Loongana, northwestern Tasmania.** We were very fortunate to be the only guests staying there at the time. As he always does for his guests, in the early evening, our kind and knowledgeable host, Len, produced some road-kill collected earlier from a local road - in this case, a large wombat carcase (seen in the right panel of the track photo) - tying it and pegging it directly in front of our cabin verandah, in anticipation of Tasmanian Devils visiting during the night to feed on the fresh carcase.

Len attached a night vision camera to a verandah post (sample images seen in the left panel of the track photo), and I set up a pair of Sennheiser MKH 8060 supercardioids at the edge of the verandah, less than a couple of metres away from the carcase, with Mogami cables passing through the window to a MixPre-6 II inside the cabin, recording at 96 kHz and 32 bit float. This is a sample extract of what happened during the night.

The night was perfectly still and calm, not the slightest breath of a breeze, and the sky was perfectly clear. The temperature fell well below 0° C soon after midnight. Before dawn, a lovely dense mist filled the landscape.

In the first minute of the recording, you will hear a Ringtail Possum feeding on the meat. At 1:10, the Possum suddenly scurries hurriedly up into a nearby tree, as a Tasmanian Devil approaches, and soon begins munching on flesh and crushing bones with its powerful jaws.

You may wonder about the source of the persistent background 'white noise' in this recording. It is the sound of the flowing River Leven, emanating and filling the whole valley. It is an ever-present sound, and it is especially clear when the air is calm and still. It is a natural reality.
. . . . . . .

What killed the wombat on the road at night? I think it highly unlikely to have been a tourist campervan, or even a local's 4WD. A wombat is a large animal and easy to see from a distance. My guess is a log truck. They work 24/7, run on a tight schedule, and drive as fast as they can manage on winding roads - especially after having unloaded, and are rushing back to the logging coupe for the next load. Sudden swerving at high speed to avoid an animal on the road is extremely dangerous for any vehicle, let alone for a large logging truck. Besides, a large wombat, or even a large Forester Kangaroo, is hardly going to leave the slightest dent in the front end of a logging truck.

Len collected the roadkill and deliberately set it out on his wilderness property for the purpose of attracting and feeding Tasmanian Devils living in the area, for the sake of providing a unique and illuminating experience to his visitors. (It also gets the roadkill far away from the road, where it would endanger more animals that would come to feed on it.) In this respect, I consider him to be a conscientious educator. I do not consider this act to be a distortion of nature, by any means; whereas, I do very much consider the continued logging of old growth native forest (which is still happening today, right now***) to be a fundamentally unethical and ecologically consequential abuse of nature. A final line needs to be drawn, in perpetuity.

_____________________________
* See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_devil and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palawa_kani

** https://www.mountainvalley.com.au/

*** See, e.g.,https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/30/tree-hobart-cbd-native-forest-logging-reform-tasmania and https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/30/the-massacre-of-tasmanias-forests-could-be-stopped-at-any-time-where-are-australias-leaders.

2023.09.12 Tasmanian Devil (Purinina) Excerpt. Early Spring.

'Windy dawn quietude' might sound like a contradiction, but the recording earns the label 'Quietude' thanks to the complete absence of any anthropogenic noise. To be sure, the wind soughing through Mountain Ash forest and soft tree ferns dominates the soundscape, but the Eastern Smooth Froglets and the small birds of dawn nevertheless make their presence clearly heard. This excerpt from a longer recording, made in Great Otway National Park, Victoria, begins at Second Light.

Good quality headphones (preferably with a 'flat frequency response', and open-backed) are recommended, especially as this is a binaural recording. The original 96/32 recording has been converted to 48/24, but is otherwise entirely unprocessed.

Recorded on the land of the indigenous Gadubanud (Katabanut) peoples.

2023.09.07 Windy Dawn Quietude beside the Smooth Froglet Pool. Early Spring.

While staying for a week in Launceston, Tasmania, with my daughter, we were very fortunate to enjoy a private tour of Waverley Mills. Of course, I asked whether I could I bring my recording gear along to make some recordings in the factory. No problem. Here are some ear-glimpses. However, the one vitally important element that isn't heard in these glimpses is the people on the floor who make the whole manufacturing process happen. Their knowledge and skill, matured over many years, was deeply impressive. (I did record some impromptu informal 'interviews', or conversations, on the floor, but without particular individuals' (and management's) permissions, these couldn't be included, here.)

To provide some background to Waverley Mills, I quote from a description written by Susan West in 2017: "Waverley Mill was built 143 years ago [150 years ago today], in 1874. Waverley has survived two World Wars, the Great Depression, and the decimation of the Australian manufacturing industry. At its peak, Waverley employed over 300 people, and its beautiful blankets and fabrics were sold all over the world. Waverley even supplied Qantas with business and first class woollen blankets for all of their aircraft.

The wool manufacturing industry in Australia has virtually died. Today, most of our wool gets exported in its raw state to be processed in China. We then buy it back as fabric or finished goods. Only one woollen mill in Australia has survived all this – Waverley Mill. Unless we can save it, it will be lost forever. Waverley is a fully functioning mill – from carding and spinning, to dyeing and weaving. Waverley already has the equipment and staff to produce the highest quality rugs, throws, blankets, scarves and fabrics. ...

There are other groups making beautiful woollen products in Australia. Waverley Mills is the last mill to card, dye, spin, weave, and finish, all under the same roof. No one else is left who is doing all of that!"

Source: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/australia-s-last-woollen-mill-needs-your-help#/

Track photo by Nina Hamilton, published in Emma Do (2019), 'Yarn for the Ages'. (https://www.broadsheet.com.au/national/fashion/article/inside-waverley-mills)

Recorded on the land of the Tyerrernotepanner (and possibly also the Pyemmairrener) people of Lutruwita (Tasmania).

2023.09.11 Waverley Mills. Launceston, Tasmania.

[00:00] Part I; [02:55] Part II, "Hammerklavier"; [13:24] Part III

Radio bardo ₂₀₁₆ ᶰʸᶜ

This is a bit from overnight unattended recording. I woke up with uneasy feeling as the sound resembled Shahed drone sounds I have heard from youtube videos. It was still pretty dark (4:50 AM).  

Drone sound in the night

Recorded with clippies em272 and mxpre 6ii at 192 kHz (32bit float), slowed down to 1/20 of the original speed and rendered to 24bit/48 kHz


Different species of bats circling a barn

I had a lovely time in the Siggefora wolf territory. My droprigs did not catch any wolves unfortunately but two singing males Great Grey Owls, two Ural Owls and two Pygmy Owls in addition to Red Deer and Fallow Deer. But the best recording was that of a singing Hazel Grouse. During the autumn they sing quite actively pairing up for next Spring.

Siggefora, Uppland. August 28, 2025.
Zoom F3 + Clippy EM272 as tree ears

Hazel grouse is actively singing during the autumn

Somehow, it was quite touching to listen to these little creatures, munching their way into a mushroom somewhere from below. I suppose they might be very small worms, but I did not see them, so I am not sure.
JrF ecoutic into leaf audio field amp into mixpre 6ii



Forest mushroom being eaten – from underneath

. (2025)

A rich morning soundscape recorded on the banks of the Cuyabeno River deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Features the magical sounds of Russet-backed Oropendolas.

The Amazon: Oropendola Morning - Album Sample

The Amazon: Cuyabeno Night - Album Sample

Sundown Wild Forest 5:55am (pt. 2)

Migrating Cranes are gathering on strategic places along the coast two-three weeks before leaving the country. This is from an overnight recording inside a barn in Preiviiki Fields not long away from here.

The wind was a strong North Westerly with small showers and very gusty. Five days later the Crane was gone. Listen with headphones, thanks!

http://www.rupuranta.net/weblog/filet/200910/

(MKH8020 ab60cm, MixPre 32>24/48, no processing, flac)

Jan Eerala Finland

Wind Barn & Cranes - 10/9/2020 - Preiviiki Fields

𝔈𝔵𝔭𝔩𝔬𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 ℌ𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤, 𝔱𝔥𝔢 ℌ𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 ℌ𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔢𝔯, 𝔞𝔰 𝔞𝔫 𝔈𝔳𝔢𝔫𝔱, 𝔞 𝔐𝔬𝔡𝔢, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔞 𝔇𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔬𝔣 𝔅𝔢𝔦𝔫𝔤.

2023.09.12 Tasmanian Devil (Purinina) Excerpt. Early Spring.

𝕳𝖊𝖆𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝕭𝖊𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘

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