Bringing nature to you in sounds and images
Posted in Australia, In Nature:, Sarah's Photography on Feb 16th, 2010
It’s 10.30 pm, and Andrew and I are about to head off to bed, when we hear a soft thump on the window pane.
From experience we know that a sound like this can only be made by either a large moth attracted by our house lights, or more excitingly, an owl hunting them. On [...]
Posted in Australia, In Nature: on Feb 2nd, 2010
Recently I was out recording cicadas, when I came across a Grey Shrike Thrush giving a lovely rendition of subsong.
Listen here
Posted in Australia, In Nature:, Sarah's Photography on Dec 28th, 2009
The Australian Bustard, Ardeotis australis, is a majestic bird of open country in the remoter parts of Australia.
Posted in Australia, In Nature: on Dec 26th, 2009
It was 2.30am, and Sarah and I listened as gusts of wind and occasional rain-squalls lashed our tent. Our plan of arising early to record the morning’s birdsong was not looking very hopeful. Which was disappointing, as this was our last morning in the Stirling Ranges, and we were hoping to hear and record the [...]
Posted in Australia, In Nature: on May 11th, 2009
The Painted Button Quail, Turnix varia, is a native quail of the drier eucalypt forests of eastern and southern Australia. Whilst they are widespread, they are quite uncommon, and their camouflage plumage makes actually seeing them in the bush a rare treat.
Our first encounter with them was fifteen years ago, whilst sound recording for one [...]
Posted in Australia, In Nature:, New Releases on Mar 13th, 2009
We have been having some lovely moonlit nights recently, and from the bush outside our bedroom window, we’ve been hearing an Australian Magpie, gymnorhina tibicen, calling throughout the night.
It is quite common for them to do this on well-illuminated moonlit evenings. Not only Magpies, but other birds such as Willy Wagtails, are well-known for this [...]
Posted in Australia, In Nature:, New Releases on Mar 4th, 2009
Sometimes a wild goose chase leads to… well, wild geese.
Several years ago, Sarah and I journeyed to the Australian outback, hoping to record the calls of Cockatiels.
We were not having any luck finding them (they are highly nomadic birds, and seemed to have departed the area a few weeks previously). However we did discover something [...]
Posted in Australia, In Nature:, New Releases on Oct 21st, 2008
To see budgerigars in the wild is a wonderful experience. In the drier parts of Australia, they are found in sometimes huge flocks, taking to the air with a roar of wings, their green and yellow plumage flashing against the blue sky. When they alight, trees can be full of chattering budgies, clustering together, preening [...]
Posted in Australia, In Nature: on Oct 20th, 2008
Spring is well underway around home here in Victoria, and the bush is alive with birdsong. We’ve been out and about recording in recent weeks, with some lovely results.
In late September, Sarah and I undertook a short (but adventurous!) field trip to Mutawintji National Park in outback NSW (more later!).
We arrived home just in time [...]
Posted in Australia, In Nature:, Understanding Nature on Sep 3rd, 2008
Frog choruses are very appealing, and make some of the most musical of nature recordings. Which is odd in a way, because frogs have very little vocal expression. Sure, they make great noises, but they are unable to modify their vocalisations or express feeling in the way that mammals or even birds are able to. [...]