This recording of the dawn chorus of birdsong was made in my garden in the Surrey Hills south of London. In the background is a continuous calling of Woodpigeon, mixed with the sounds of corvids passing overhead and the regular call and wingbeat of Pheasant. Multiple other birds are heard through the recording, all common garden and countryside species in this part of the UK. I have annotated some of the more prominent sounds on the timeline.

Only 30 miles south of London and equidistant between Heathrow and Gatwick airports, periods of quiet without human sounds are rare. Still, this time of year the best of the dawn chorus occurs before the airports open, and early on weekend mornings when this was recorded there are longer stretches without car traffic on the country lanes.


Dawn Chorus, Surrey Hills, UK (2011-05-21-1007d)

This recording was made in late July, after midnight, at a small pond in southern Indiana. Sitting in the darkness listening to the frogs, I had no idea a Barred Owl was close by until its slow trembling call came through the headphones.

Barred Owl, Monroe County, Indiana, USA (2011-07-24-1043e)

Green Frogs were regular callers on the small pond in southern Indiana where I made this recording, but this was the only time I heard such a concentration of calls from multiple individuals. Each frog seems to be calling on a different beat, creating a strange syncopated chorus. Twice Bullfrogs add their bass voice to the mix.




Green Frogs, Monroe County, Indiana, USA (2011-07-24-1024d)

This recording and the next two ("Green Frogs", "Barred Owl") were made at the same small pond in southern Indiana over the course of a hot and humid week in July 2011. On this, the first night, it had reached 105&deg; during the day and I'm sure it was still well over 90&deg; at midnight when this was captured. Cope's Gray Treefrog is the main caller. These are abundant in the surrounding woodland, and they descend to ponds at night to breed. I don't know if it was due to the weather or other factors, but their chorus was especially loud on this particular evening.

The 'plucked banjo string' of Green Frogs can be heard periodically. I am not an expert on frog vocalizations, but I believe the occasional 'weep-weep' is again Cope's Gray Treefrog. Distinct from the constant 'advertisement' call, this is an aggressive call between rival males.

Toward the end something makes a loud splash which silences the frogs for several minutes.

Cope's Gray Treefrogs, Monroe County, Indiana, USA (2011-07-19-1007d)

Here we have Lion again, this time in Ruaha National Park, with the sound echoing in the walls of the dry riverbed in front of our tent. In the foreground, are the wingbeats of insect-hunting bats.

With identification help from the camp manager, these are probably Hairy Slit-faced Bat (Nycteris hispida). We could see their size in the dim light before dawn as they passed in front of and through the open areas of our tent, and N. hispida is the common insect-eating bat of this size in the area.

Lion Echoes and Bats, Ruaha National Park, Tanzania (2011-09-01-c2-1024d)

Most small safari camps in Africa are unfenced, and it is not uncommon to awake to the sound of Elephant browsing near the tent at night. In this recording, made after midnight in Ruaha National Park, our visitor is tearing branches from a small Candelabra tree just a few yards from the tent. Amid the crashing of vegetation, you can hear the grinding of the Elephant chewing, and some other unexpected sounds I have annotated on the timeline. The musical note in the background, repeated at regular short intervals, is African Scops-Owl.


Elephant Browsing at Night, Ruaha National Park, Tanzania (2011-09-01-c2-1016d)

Galagos (small nocturnal primates also known as Bushbabies) were abundant in the woods around our camp in Lake Manyara National Park, even calling from the branches above as we used our open-air shower in the evenings. In this clip are two exchanges of calls from trees close to the microphone. (Keep the volume on your headphones turned down, because the sudden calls are quite loud!). In the interlude between the Galago calls, Hippopotamus make their characteristic grunts in the distance.

I believe I am correct in identifying this as Small-eared Galago (Otolemur garnettii), also called Garnett&#8217;s Greater Galago, Northern Greater Galago, and other common names by different sources. We had good views of the animals at close range, and the waveform of the calls is a good match with the examples in the identification books. That said, I have struggled to find definitive identification recordings of this species, so confirmation (or correction) by someone expert in these calls would be much appreciated.

Small-eared Galagos (Bushbabies), Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania (2011-08-25-c1-1002d)

This recording and the three that follow ("Small-eared Galagos", "Elephant Browsing", "Lion Echoes and Bats") are a small sampler of the sounds of the African night. They were made in Tanzania over the course of two weeks in late August and early September 2011.

In the first clip, two Lions&#8212;large black-maned pride males and brothers&#8212;roar together in Tarangire National Park, adverstising their presence to other pride members and potential rival males. These Lions were at very close range, and you can hear the detail of the gutteral rasp in the calls.


Male Lions Roaring, Tarangire National Park, Tanzania (2011-08-29-c2-1007d)

This was recorded in late October, in the hour before dawn, on the Luangwa River in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia.  The first part of the recording features the undulating liquid call of White-browed Coucal. Noisy Egyptian Geese, White-crowned Lapwing and Hadeda Ibis are heard throughout, as is the splashing of Hippopotamus in the river. The track ends with a loud exchange of Hippopotamus grunts.

Telinga SSM microphone, Olympus LS-11 recorder

Morning on the Luangwa River, South Luangwa National Park, Zambia (2013-10-22-0089c)

In this recording Verreaux's (Giant) Eagle-Owl (Bubo lacteus) calls near our tent in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania while, faintly in the background, a second owl calls in reply.

Audio-Technica BP4025 microphone, Oade-modified Marantz PMD661 recorder

Verreaux's (Giant) Eagle-Owl, Ruaha National Park, Tanzania (2011-09-02-C2-1031c)

Here European Robin sings in our garden in the Surrey Hills south of London. The focus is on the Robin, but Blackbird and Woodpigeon are prominent in the background and Carrion Crow calls at the start as if to say a few words of introduction.

Telinga Parabolic Dish with PRO-8 MK2 Stereo microphone, Sound Devices 702 recorder

Dawn Chorus With Robin, Blackbird And Woodpigeon, Surrey Hills, UK (2017-05-07-T75c)

This recording features Song Thrush, declaring its territory from a high perch in our garden in the Surrey Hills south of London. For ambience we have the characteristic dawn chorus of the area, dominated by a backdrop of Woodpigeon calls.

As unexpected extras, Roe Deer barks intermittently to the rear and there is a sudden fly-by of Canada Geese. The rising background noise starting around 1m58s, and less prominently at other points, is the sound of light wind gusts in a large willow to the right of the microphone.

Over the years it has become increasingly difficult to make this kind of recording without intrusion from traffic and airplane noise. The country lane in front of our house has become progressively busier, and at our location halfway between Heathrow and Gatwick airports there is seldom a time without a faint drone of jet engines, even at 5am when this was recorded.

But this was not recorded in ordinary times. In late May 2020 we were in the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic in the UK. While lockdown restrictions had been slightly eased, there was still little road traffic in the early morning hours and the skies were practically devoid of airplanes, small points of brightness in generally grim times.

As always, please listen with headphones if at all possible.

Telinga SSM microphone, Olympus LS-11 recorder

Kin Corning

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