I work afternoon shifts and occasionally when I have walked home from work, I have seen the odd Tawny Frogmouth sitting on power lines or TV antenners in the dark but for the first time I have actually heard that beautiful, but eerie call which is very difficult to trace where it is coming from unless you are lucky enough to spot the bird in the dark. To me it sounds like some sort of muffled dial tone from a phone or a weird burgler electronic alarm.

"oom-oom-oom..." calls of a Tawny Frogmouth

Tawny Frogmouths don't call continuously, but in short sequences

Field recordings collection.  All genres, best played shuffled.  No music, just sound.

Nature Recordings - Collection

Night falls in the cloud forest. Several species of frogs congregate in humid areas, from jungle lakes to the smallest puddle. Recorded in Bale Mountains NP, Ethiopia. Long version at https://youtu.be/8iYSre_njk8

Frogs croaking in the cloud forest

The Winds of Spirit with Hemi-Sync®

Track 2

Listen on headphones & relax to the sounds of the World Heritage-listed Daintree rainforest, Queensland, Australia. 

A group of Little Shrike Thrush whistle melodious phrases, responding to each other's calls. Superb & Wompoo Fruit Doves provide a bassline, & at about 1:05 you can hear Wompoo fly in, it's wings whoosh through the air. Towards the end a Black Butcherbird chortles, and the rasp of a Victoria's Riflebird is heard in the background.

The extended 72 minute version of this track has now been published as a downloable album available here - https://wildambience.com/albums/a-morning-in-the-daintree-rainforest/

Gentle Morning in the Daintree

Gentle Morning in the Daintree - QLD, Australia

On Saturday, 12 November 2022, South Australia, including the whole Adelaide region, experienced an uncharacteristic extended storm of unusual intensity. Several storm fronts, arriving from the NW over St Vincent's Gulf, hit Adelaide and the Fleurieu Peninsula. The storm has been described as "one of the strongest thunderstorms in recent memory",* causing flash flooding, wind gusts exceeding 100 km/h that tore down huge gum trees (many of which crushed houses, cars, and electricity lines), as well as flattening giant electricity pylons, leaving around a hundred thousand people without power. 

This recording, made in the Adelaide Hills (near Norton Summit), captures a sample of the first and mildest storm wavefront that day. (The recording begins at 10:30 in the morning. This abridged version selects two excerpts from the longer recording, chosen because of the poignant presence of bird calls audible between the peals of thunder. The highlighted parts of the spectrogram in the track image indicate the passages from the longer recording that were selected for this abridged version.) The microphones sheltered from the fairly light rain underneath a 'sweet pittosporum' or 'native daphne' tree (Pittosporum undulatum), native to southeastern Australia, but a 'declared plant' in South Australia ('a woody weed invading native local vegetation', due to widespread ornamental planting).

Travelling farther south immediately after this recording, I was able to intercept the next two storm wavefronts, which were far more intense. Although the storm was utterly awesome and spectacular (lightning bolts plunging into fields, exploding thunder tearing the atmosphere apart), it was impossible to find any spot from which to record the storm, because it brought with it an abundant lashing downpour of rain and wild tree-tossing winds. All the shelters in the state forests had iron rooves: the rain battering the rooves was deafening, drowning out even the peals of thunder.

In the end, I could only just sit and experience it. Which, after all, is the very best thing to do, with Nature. (Most of the time, at least. Not recommended when it gets this violent. Although I have to say that this was truly a very beautiful and awe-inspiring experience; and, personally, I'm very glad to have been out there to witness it. I'm also contemplating possible recording solutions, in case this ever happens again... Enraptured by thunderstorms as a spatial music of nature. All that I have said, here, is the simple truth.)
__________________________________________
*https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/why-the-adelaide-storm-was-so-intense/925471
https://www.sapowernetworks.com.au/data/313806/12-november-storm-update-from-sa-power-networks/
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/18/australias-indigenous-people-call-for-seat-at-table-at-cop27
__________________________________________
Recorded with respect upon the land of the Kaurna people.

@Bandcamp

2022.11.12 Storm above the Hills. Late Spring. (Excerpt)

A long soundscape across Dawn in the Queets River Valley rainforest of the Olympic National Park. Starting in Astronomical Twilight, a small herd of Roosevelt Elk walks in from a distance, though a small forest glade, an away towards the Queets River bed.

Early Autumn rainfall and dropping Maple Leaves are the dominant sounds to begin, their pak-pak-spaks are a reminder that time passes, even in the still quiet of a moss-covered forest.

Highway 101 in less than 12 miles away, and distant traffic is funneled up the Valley, showing the difficulty of escaping human-generated sound. This has been mitigated somewhat with light processing, but close listening and inspection will make remnants evident. There are no other edits or processes committed.

I love the crisp cold air of the rainforests in the fall. Sounds, natural and human generated, carry into the distant. Tucked into my sleeping bag, I lay back in my small tent, listening to the forest awaken. Where once there was just the soft distant wash of the river, the elk are joined by the local birds. Steller's Jays shriek their song with grating-yet-amusing "CHA-CHA-CHA-CHAs". A Northern Saw-whet toots in the forest canopy. Young Varied Thrush practice their songs, not quite reaching the beautiful and haunting signature fluting of their predecessors, instead emitting a silly buzzer-bell-like noise. Pacific Wren singing at the end of their season and the occasional Kingfisher make an appearance as well. Noe of these complete with the sheer vibrance of the elk.

Roosevelt Elk or Roosevelt's Wapiti or Rainforest Elk are the largest remaining elk species in North America and thrive in shadowy silences of the Pacific Northwest's temperate rainforests. Bull's bugles and roars echo through the trees, becoming one of the signature sounds of the Olympic Mountains. The cows mew and squeal in return, listening for one another to not wander far astray.

The small herd is a tight-nit family group, a with one, maybe two, dominant bulls, five or six cows in their harem, and a handful of young. The dominant bull leads the group on a daily hike, down from the upper valley to the river and back again. Their bugles urge the group, both signaling the direction to go and scolding those that dawdle. As they pass through the glade, their heavy footfall on the vegetative floor thump-thump-thumps their presence as much as the vocalizations and the continued crushing of vegetation as they push by.

I can't get enough of their energy. They pull back frequently. No matter how many times I encounter them, Elk never cease to awe me.

Click through the comments below for some highlights!

Northwest Soundscapes

Queets River Valley Rainforest Dawn with Elk

I am on bandcamp.com now
Two Thrush Nightingales in song.  Recorded at night beginning at 2.05am on the 20th of May 2013, in Soomaa National Park, Estonia.  This is the third of three recordings.  Some months ago I uploaded this same recording but a shorter version in 44khz/16bit, this recording is the full-length 48Khz/24Bit version.  Equipment; A matched pair of Sennheiser MKH8020 microphones, a Sound Devices MixPre microphone pre-amp and a Marantz PMD661 solid state recorder.
Recording 2502.
To help you find my other albums, here is a list of the names of the albums as sound cloud is not structured in such a way as to make it easy to find material that is a long way down or at the bottom of the page, so it is easier to search for the albums if you know their names, here is a list.
Put any of these names in the search bar and press enter.  
Central America . . . Belize.
Garden of songs.  	Forest Home.	  Out of the blue.
Jungle report.	Wild enough.	  Na Luum Ca - revisited.

South America . . . Brazil.
Xixuau   (2 disc production).
South America . . . Guyana.
Karanambu.	   Iwokrama.
South America . . . Peru   (4 disc production).
Otorongo.     	  Tahuayo. 
Europe . . . Finland.
Natures Song.	  At the blue moment.
Europe . . . Estonia.
Soomaa.
Europe . . . Wales / Ireland.
Morning Birds 3.	
Europe . . . Ireland.
Morning Birds 1 and 2.	  The joy of birdsong.	  Birds of the great Saltee.   Saltee Revisited.		Songs of silence.		Aubade.
More Suburban Birds.		 Suburban Birds (This one was never uploaded to sound cloud).

2 Thrush Nightingales - The 48khz/24Bit version

R.J. Stefanski - 24 Minutes of Tranquil Rain and Thunder (Pt One)
Be sure to listen to the other two parts:
Part Two: https://soundcloud.com/rjsfoundsounds/24-mins-of-tranquil-rain-thunder-pt-twofield-recordings-for-sleep-relaxation
Part Three: https://soundcloud.com/rjsfoundsounds/24-mins-of-tranquil-rain-thunder-pt-threefield-recordings-for-sleep-or-relaxation

An Extended Field Recording Collage - 
a tool for relaxation, meditation, yoga, sleep, studying, daydreaming and more.

Continuing my recent trend of presenting field recordings in an expanded setting (the 30+ minutes of "Dark Shadows in the Periphery" along with the 14 minutes dedicated to "Green Acres"), comes the latest installment in my ongoing series of rain and thunderstorm recordings. "24 Minutes" triples the duration of my previous rain releases. With the additional room to spread out, this soundscape differentiates itself from my past uploads with a more protracted narrative arc, allowing for deeper listening and a greater variety of storm sounds. Moreso than previous edits, I tried to keep as much human interference (cars, planes, etc..) out of this  project. One thing this collage does share with older tracks like "Torrential Downpour in the City" or "Midsummer Thunderstorm", is that it is in fact a collage - about ten separate field recordings are being edited and layered for a specific effect. For this particular soundscape  I wanted there to be a long intro and outro with very little thunder and an emphasis on the calming tones of rain and water. Throughout the duration there is a wealth of various water sounds - ranging from loud drips battling against an aluminum gutter (for most of the opening seven minutes or so), to the warm splashes of a light rain falling into a puddle, to the white noise created by a blistering downpour. 
     A big part of why I typically mix a variety of storms together is to achieve a fuller depth of field so that you can hear rain that is both 8-10 feet away and 50+ feet away. I also like the ability of shaping the storm in the same way as a DJ set.
     All the recordings were made with my Tascam DR-07 MK II in the late Spring / Summer of 2015 in various locations in Southeast Michigan.

Sound Therapy Sessions

Buy WAV on Bandcamp

24 Mins Of Tranquil Rain & Thunder (Pt One) [Field Recording Sleep , Relaxation, Yoga, Meditation]

Hélène Seiyu Honkyoku Practice

Hi Fu Mi Cho (Free DL)

This is a recording next to a pond, at roughly 6am in the morning.

Field Recording: Australian Bush, Western Australia

The album begins at dawn in the Capertee Valley, NSW, with the melodious song of the Australian Magpie filling the misty morning air. 

Each track on this album features typical Australian birdsong from a different habitat of the Australian bush - open country, mallee, wet eucalypt forest, coastal forest, dry woodland and montane forest. 

For more details and see https://wildambience.com/albums/birdsong-of-the-australian-bush

Birdsong of the Australian Bush

'Birdsong of the Australian Bush' - Album Sample

Images and story here: http://www.listeningearth.com.au/blog/late-night-visitor-a-tawny-frogmouth
Album information here: http://www.listeningearth.com.au/albums/15EveningBush/15EveningBush_Album_Info.htm

Tawny Frogmouth (from 'An Evening in the Australian Bush' album)

Recorded in predawn light by a swamp in Ulu Muda's rainforest. In the latter part of this sample you can hear the unusual calls of Rough-sided Frogs (Pulchrana glandulosa). Agile Gibbons can be heard singing in the background along with the occasional chattering calls of Banded Langur.

Predawn Ambience - Ulu Muda

Predawn Ambience - Ulu Muda, Malaysia

This recording was awarded the Silver Fox 2018. The Silver Fox is the overall winner of the annual competition of the Wildlife Sound Recording Society. This is the long version of the recording - the competition entries are allowed to be max. two minutes long.
Recorded 2017 at the Amazon Refuge Lodge in Loreto, Peru. 2 x AT4022 omnis in an Olson Wing array.

WSRS Silver Fox Award 2018 - Afternoon by the Lodge

If you wish to download this in full HD lossless quality, follow this link:
***Purchase on Bandcamp in WAV***
https://rjstefanski.bandcamp.com/track/relaxing-rain-and-loud-thunder

One of my first edits from my library of found sounds: "Relaxing Rain and Loud Thunder" is designed as a brief intro into my perspective on contemporary field recording. This is actually a few different storms, recorded in different times in various places piled up on top of each other to create a uniquely soothing three and a half minutes. Use good headphones and listen loud, but be ready for those loud cracks of thunder! More of my rain recordings:
https://soundcloud.com/rjsfoundsounds/city-storm-pt-03-rolling-thunder-hd-field-recordings
https://soundcloud.com/rjsfoundsounds/city-storm-pt-05-sudden-downpours-of-relaxing-rain-with-rolling-thunder-hd-field-recordings
https://soundcloud.com/rjsfoundsounds/rj-stefanski-midsummer-thunderstorm-field-recording-96-khz-24-bit
https://soundcloud.com/rjsfoundsounds/r-j-stefanski-20-x-2-05-romeo
https://soundcloud.com/rjsfoundsounds/rj-stefanski-city-rain-falling-on-umbrella-hd-field-recordings-nyc-96k-16bit-wav
https://soundcloud.com/rjsfoundsounds/sound-therapy-sessions-001-quiet-rain-thunder-and-waves
All Sounds Property of Ryan John Stefanski 2013-2020
New artwork / image by R.J. Stefanski July 1 2020.

self titled single

"Relaxing Rain and Loud Thunder"

Bandcamp Download

Relaxing Rain & Loud Thunder (Ambient Calm Field Recording for Sleep, Relaxation Meditation, Yoga)

Sutherland 19/5/2010 5:00pm. With raven and willow warbler.


Cuckoos

Listening Earth offers an evocative range of natural listening experiences -  soundscapes recorded in wild locations around the world. 

Established 25 years ago by nature field recordist Andrew Skeoch and photographer Sarah Koschak, it is their passion to share the beautiful, unique and often fragile soundscapes of our living planet. 

"We hope listening will remind you of life in balance, and transport you to wild and often remote places."

Tawny Frogmouth (from 'An Evening in the Australian Bush' album)

Listening Earth

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Greg Latham

HalfDog

Listening Earth

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