Name: Fireplace - 20240326 21:00 by Joan Larrahondo
Duration: 4 min 24 s
Description: The sound of wood on dying fire in our fireplace at around 9:00 pm. Two 2-minute tracks joined together; no filters. Recorded in March 2024 on a Zoom H4nPro (120 deg and 90 deg, 48 kHz, 24-bit).

An audio sample from the album 'Flute Lyrebirds of the Werrikimbe Wilderness'. The full length album is 95 minutes in duration and is available from https://wildambience.com/albums/flute-lyrebirds-of-the-werrikimbe-wilderness .

In the cool, damp forests of the New England Tablelands of New South Wales, the local Superb Lyrebirds have an extraordinary accent and are sometimes referred to as 'flute lyrebirds'. The song of birds in parts of this region is a complex, melodic phrase which sounds like a scale played on a flute. In winter when male lyrebirds are in full song, these unique melodies float through the cool misty air of the high altitude rainforests creating a magical atmosphere.

Flute Lyrebirds of the Werrikimbe Wilderness

New Album: Flute Lyrebirds of the Werrikimbe Wilderness

It's not often you can get close enough to record the illusive American Bittern. Usually they are so secretive they seem to select the most remote areas of marshes. This is a recording made in the spring of 2014 early one still May morning in a large marsh in Nova Scotia, Canada. A flock of blackbirds, Purple Grackles, Red Winged Blackbirds and Rusty Blackbirds congregated at the edge of the marsh and then of course, the amazing deep voice of the Bittern joins in. If you have never heard a Bittern, you should listen!

Marshland Morning Chorus

THERE IS NOW AN EDITED VERSION AVAILABLE below for download. This new version has the bumps and clicks from the rain hitting the mics taken out. Otherwise it is exactly the same as this original version. To download the new version just visit the link below.

http://wildearthvoices.bandcamp.com/track/for-the-earth-morning-chorus-at-davids

This is 42 minutes long, downloading it to an MP3 player and listening quietly will give you a better sense of not only the place but the idea and story that goes with this recording. This is not a perfect recording, there are bumps and clicks that have been left in, unedited. 

Sound can tell us many things,  this was something I promised myself I would do. The Deep Green philosopher, Earth activist and supporter of Deep Ecology, David Orton was a friend and mentor to me for many years. He died yesterday (May 12th 2011) after a lifetime fighting for the Earth.

Like Arne Naess, the founder of Deep Ecology, David believed that the richness of his life came from a deep spiritual relationship with the Earth and not from monetary values. He lived simply, gardened and worked towards developing the theory of left biocentrism within the Deep Ecology movement, he opposed and publicly spoke out about deforestation, uranium mining, herbicide spraying, social justice issues, sealing and many other problems that face the continuing survival of all sentient beings we share the Earth with. David set the bar high for others working towards a better world, he was uncompromising and challenging, but above all, he had a deep rooted integrity that could not be shaken, his written work will echo down the generations for many years. 

The recording comes from the day after he died, within sight of his family home on an old farm that has now grown up to being wild again. I had initially gone there this morning to make a ‘perfect’ recording, but somehow David has had the last say. A freight train, carrying the materials of industrial society, reared its self into the dawn chorus. As I sat there I felt as if it was a motif for how we are exploiting every corner of the earth in our quest for growth and consumerism. But there is a catch, if you take the time to listen, you will find that the train disappears, it becomes a distant hum and the morning chorus takes over in the quiet of the rainy dawn, finally fading, another metaphor and a reminder we shall all return to the earth.

One of David's quotes goes like this, “"Most of the people I work with did not come to their positions based on reading deep ecology books, or listening to university lectures, or having worked out some philosophical position which is perfectly logical and consistent."

What he is saying here, is that if we want to live deeply and peacefully, to understand our place in the world with love and compassion, then we need to make a connection with the Earth, we can only do this by spending time with it.

If you look at the track photo you can see Davids home off in the mist, this was the next morning chorus after he had died the previous morning. 

In the recording you can hear the American Bittern, Spring Peepers, Swamp Sparrow, Raven, Mourning Dove, gentle wind, rain and Davids dog Lucy! This recording can be downloaded. To read about Davids life you can visit his blog below, which has links to his written work.

http://deepgreenweb.blogspot.com/

If you would like to leave a comment please do so. They will remain private.

For The Earth
(He signed every email with this!)

Thankyou David.

For The Earth, Morning Chorus at Davids

Recorded shortly after a shower during the rainy season in the Atlantic Forest Reserve Mbaracayú, Paraguay. 

This dusk chorus climax is dominated by amphibians. After some initial research, the species heard are Leptodactylus elenae (or fuscus?), Leptodactylus mystacinus and a Dendrosophus (minutus or nanus). 

If anyone reading this can help to confirm or correct any of the ID, please get in touch. Thank you for listening!

Mbaracayú Dusk Climax

The sound of wood on dying fire in our fireplace at around 9:00 pm. Two 2-minute tracks joined together; no filters. Recorded in March 2024 on a Zoom H4nPro (120 deg and 90 deg, 48 kHz, 24-bit).

Fireplace - 20240326 21:00

Cette année le temps était maussade et l’ambiance était à son image.

This year the weather was a bit gloomy, reflected in the chorus.

2024 © Ph.V.

International Dawn Chorus Day 2024

This is an edit of recordings from the highland rainforests of the Huon Peninsula in Papua New Guinea.

These recordings were made during a recent trip to PNG with several colleagues from the Australian Wildlife Sound Recording Group. This edit contains some highlights from the four weeks we spent trekking and recording in the mountain forests above 2000m. 

In the near future I'll be making these recordings available in full, but for now, this is some of what we encountered.

Huon Peninsula Soundscape

More

Soundscape : Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea

3 minute audio sample from the 210 minute nature soundscape recording; “A Wetland Restored”. 

Listen to the complete recording:
http://www.listeningearth.com/play/album/86AWetlandRestored.php

Lake Gladstone is the largest permanent wetland in the Kimberley region of northern Australia. However until recently, it was trampled by cattle, its waters muddied, and the balance of native vegetation exposed to invasive weeds.

In 2005, an agreement between neighbouring property managers and the Australian Wildlife Conservancy lead to restoration of this unique wetland. A stock-excluding fence was erected, followed by weed control measures. The results have been spectacular.

To visit Lake Gladstone now is to experience a richly biodiverse place, alive with the sounds of birdsong and waterfowl. Ducks and grebes call from the water, darters and egrets from surrounding perches, while brolgas take wing and call from overhead. Crakes and swamphens dabble among the reeds along the water's edge, and bush birdsong fills the trees.

This recording documents a single morning at the lake, beginning in the darkness of predawn. Over the following three hours, the sun rises, casting long shadows over the waters and reedbeds. The soundscape subtly transitions from the songs of nocturnal crickets and cries of waterbirds in the dark, to the daytime activity of songbirds.

This is a single, unedited recording. At three hours, it is also a long one. However it remains interesting the whole time, presenting the biodiversity of the place and allowing you to hear the success that collaborative conservation initiatives can achieve.

Listening Earth Album Sample

A Wetland Restored

A Wetland Restored: Album Sample

This is an excerpt from the track 'Dawn Symphony', now available as a one hour dawn chorus recording from New Guinea available here - https://wildambience.com/albums/new-guinea-lowland-dawn-chorus

A vivid dawn chorus from the steamy forests of lowland West Papua. While the rainforest is still dark, Hooded Butcherbirds sing melodic fluty phrases to welcome the new day.

New Guinea - Dawn Chorus

Dawn Symphony (excerpt from the album "New Guinea: Lowland Rainforest Dawn")

This is a sample containing excerpts from the one hour album "New Guinea: Lowland Rainforest Dawn" available at www.wildambience.com/albums/new-guinea-lowland-dawn-chorus

New Guinea is home to the largest expanse of rainforest in the Asia-Pacific region (and the third largest rainforest in the world after the Amazon and Congo). Vast areas of undisturbed forest can be found throughout the island and its biodiversity is simply amazing.

In 2019, I spent five days in an area of pristine lowland rainforest on the Birds Head Peninsula in West Papua. This album, ‘New Guinea: Dawn in Lowland Rainforest’, was recorded on my final morning at this location. Rising early, well before dawn, I placed the recording gear in a stunning area of forest I had scouted the previous day. The album covers a period of one hour from predawn darkness, through the rich dawn chorus and ends as the soundscape settles and the diurnal insect activity increases.

New Guinea: Lowland Rainforest Dawn

New Guinea: Lowland Rainforest Dawn - Album Sample

Under a full moon on an early spring night, several Australian Magpies sing and respond to one another with rich fluty melodies. Dingoes can be heard howling from further up the valley and a Powerful Owl hoots from a nearby forested slope.

Album available here - https://wildambience.com/albums/moonlight-chorus/

Fireplace - 20240326 21:00

Joan Larrahondo

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