They are trying to get fracking permits for where I live.  This is such a good reminder of what can be lost as a result.

Recorded in an ecotone of mangrove and coastal rainforest on Batanta, a large island in the Raja Ampat Archipelago off the coast of West Papua. This sample features the calls of Spangled Drongo & Brown Oriole, along with Black Thicket Fantail, Northern Fantail, New Guinea Friarbird, Spice Imperial Pigeon, Claret-breasted Fruit-dove, Coconut Lorikeet, Red-cheeked Parrot, Glossy-mantled Manucode & Torresian Crow.

Batanta Rainforest, West Papua

A dawn chorus next to a little pond where life follows its own rhythm. Ducks, frogs, birds and small mammals come and go. 
Luckily no airplanes during this time.
The microphones were very close to the water so there is a difference in volume between ducks, frogs, and on the other side the bird songs, although at times birds come very close to the microphones.
Enjoy listening.

Dawn Chorus Champetre, Cardet

Some frogs in a pound - Worblaufen / Bern
Audio Technica AT8022 stereo mic on Tascam DR-100mk3
48kHz / 24bit - low cut in post

2024 - 05 - 01 Worblaufen - Frogs

Wimpole Scything Festival 2015.  Lots of peening, honing and sharpening during the rain storm.  Then on to the competitions. Individual and team scything as well as the classic 'scythe versus petrol mower versus strimmer' show-down. The competitions were accompanied by a couple of Spitfires at one point - There was an air display at Duxford. All recorded on my prototype binaural head.  There was even a KU100 owner at the event, who asked if my dummy head was homemade.  What are the chances of that...? 

Best listened to on headphones.

Homemade binaural head with anatomically correct pinnae.  Primo EM172-Z1 electrets to SD702. 24/48.

Wimpole Scything Mix

19 Biophony at Rio Doce rain forest, Brazil

Sandhill Cranes with other wetland sounds.

STE - 099 Green River State Wildlife Area

STE - 059 Ryan Copes  Tree Frogs

field recordings

small waves on rocky coast

Vinden i stålhegnet ved Augustenborg Hallen på Als (kontaktmikrofoner (2 x AKG C411 PP)). Spillet med dejskraber af gummi, tommestok af træ og de bare fingre.

The wind in this steel fence in Augustenborg, Denmark (contact microphones, 2 x AKG C411 PP). Played with a rubber stick, a stick of wood and my fingers.

Vind i stålhegnet ved Augustenborg Hallen

Phonography : Afternoon at Playa Blanca, facing the Pacific Ocean, looking and listen at the Scarlet Macaws flying and feeding around us.

Recorded at Playa Blanca, in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.

Microphones : MS Sennheiser 8040-30
Recorder : Sound Device MixPre 10T

GPS coordinates : 8.6425,-83.4341667

02/19/2019

more records and informations about this project :

www.phonography.world/

Phonography : Scarlet Macaws at Playa Blanca, Costa Rica (8.6425,-83.4341667)

This is a chorus of Couch's Spadefoot Toads trying to attract mates to a flooded area along a formerly very quiet road in Dimmitt County, Texas.  These toads have gathered in large numbers to try and breed after 10 inches of rain fell in the previous 24 hours on this drought parched land.  It is very likely the first real breeding opportunity this species has had in this area in several years.

I say "formerly very quiet road" because unfortunately, the oil fracking boom has come to this area of Texas.  Four or five years ago, this road probably saw no more than 50 cars per day.  There would have been little or no commercial truck traffic on this road.   With the fracking boom comes oil trucks.....lots of them.

I recorded here for exactly 23 minutes and 11 oil trucks flew by at high speed.  That is a fairly typical frequency.  This means that there would be approximately a truck every 2 minutes.  Some might wonder if I just hit a busy time of day for these commercial trucks?   Actually, no.  It was 1:45 am on a Sunday morning.   This truck traffic is pretty much constant, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  If my 23 minutes are representative, and I feel they are, over 700 trucks a day could pass down this road now.  Even if it is only half that, it is a catastrophic change to the natural soundscape.


The speed limit is 75mph (120 kph) but I suspect a lot of trucks were exceeding that since there was little (no) law enforcement on this quiet road.  You can hear how the truck noise completely overpowers the toads calls and forces them to stop and lose their rhythm for a minute or more after they pass.  The microphone was set up on a tripod next to the flooded ditch at least 20 meters from the edge of the road.  The trucks are just that loud!

Some see the oil boom in this part of Texas as a boon and are making large amounts of money.  I see paradise lost.

Recorded with a Sennheiser ME62/K6 into an Olympus LS-11 recorder.

Fracking Trucks versus Scaphiopus couchii

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