Running Time:
97 min
Release Date:
July 2015
Recording Location:
Near White Mountains National Park, Queensland
If you like this album,
we also recommend:
The Gulf Country - Northern Australia
This soundscape from Australia's tropical north is one of the most spectacularly biodiverse we have encountered in this part of the country.
The Gulf Country is a region of northern Australia, where open grassland and scattered woodlands drain across flat lands to the Gulf of Carpentaria. It is a tropical savannah landscape, with a distinct wet and dry season, and the mosaic of habitats make for a complex mix of species.
This recording captures a single morning from dawn onwards, as birds move around the woodland, feeding and socialising. There is such a diversity I can only begin to mention species, but lorikeets, friarbirds, whistlers, butcherbirds, babblers, weebills, apostlebirds, honeyeaters, gerygones, coucals and orioles are prominent. Kangroos can also be heard huffing, and as the morning warms up a soft hum of bush flies emerges.
The recording location is on the eastern edge of the gulf country, and hence you'll hear both species characteristic of the region, and others from more easterly distributions.
It is a rich mix!
Andrew comments:
In flat, open country such as this, it is difficult to predict where the focus of activity may be, and hence where to place microphones. Often I wake to find birdsong thinly distributed across a wide landscape. But on this occasion, even though it appeared to be undistinguished woodland, the level of activity audible in this one spot was extraordinary. For me this recording represents a perfect balance of a wonderful range of voices, without becoming too overwhelming. Sometimes you get lucky.
Incidentally, the Australian bustard pictured on the cover is a signature species of this region - however it is usually silent!
(This continuous album is presented as four tracks for listening convenience. If burning to a CDR, omit the final track and it will fit on a single 80 minute disc.)
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