Running Time:
77 min
Release Date:
March 2008
Recording Location:
Satkosia National Park, Orissa, India.
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Indian Jungle Dawn
A beautiful morning of birdsong unfolds in one of India's rare lowland forests.
Spotted Owlets give their last calls as the dawn chorus begins. Indian Scimtar Babblers are heard on all sides with their warm tonal songs, along with White-browed Fantails and the contrapuntal rhythms of Tailorbirds. Parakeets fly through the forest, Malabar squirels call loudly, langur 'whoop's fill the forest, and woodpeckers drum overhead.
This recording will take you into a pristine wild place.
Andrew comments:
"This recording was made in Orisa, an eastern state of India. It is a little visited region, and we were informed we were one of the few westerners to have visited some of its parks.
After securing permissions (which was an adventure in itself), we hired a vehicle and driver, and set off to Sakosia forest on the banks of the Mahadevi River. Basing ourselves at the visitor's accomodation near the village of Tikapara, each morning we drove out in the predawn, along a narrow dirt road that threaded through dense forest following the banks of the river. About an hour along this road, we found a recording location which seemed promising. Here a small valley and stream emerged from the surrounding hills, and the birdlife seemed prolific.
For the next two days we recorded there, and got some lovely material. It was a great spot. However we found that the road was a bit of a village thoroughfare, with occasional bicycles, scooters and even a local bus coming along. We realised that this traffic would ease on the following day - Sunday - so we planned on an early start the next morning.
Being India, we should have known better... We awoke, but found that a nightwatchman had unexpectedly locked all the gates out of the visitor's compound. This had not been done previous evenings, but our vehicle headlights now illuminated medieval locks and huge chains looped around iron gates. With the minutes ticking to daylight, we searched the village for the nightwatchman and the key. He was not sleeping where he usually lived, and when we eventually did find him - nearly an hour later - he'd left the key elsewhere!
With our morning plans derailed, we made the best of it and recorded elsewhere, but relatively unsuccessfully. If our favourite location were to yield any further opportunities, the only strategy was to return the following Sunday, and try again.
Which, after exploring other parks in the region, is what we did. The nightwatchman was eventually convinced to not 'do his duty' by locking that gates, and we arrived at our location with stars overhead, and crickets chirruping pleasantly. Which is where this recording begins.
Over the following hours, the forest awoke to the richest birdsong we'd yet heard there, and in that time, we encountered only one quiet and slightly bemused cyclist."
Audio sample of this album
Alternate audio link 
|
1. |
Spotted Owlets in the Pre-dawn |
8.34 |
|
2. |
Indian Scimitar Babbler Chorus |
10.22 |
|
3. |
Dawn Comes to the Jungle |
13.00 |
|
4. |
Plum-headed Parakeets |
13.33 |
|
5. |
Tailorbird Rhythms |
5.04 |
|
6. |
Voices from Bamboo Grove and Treetop |
9.55 |
|
7. |
White-browed Fantails |
7.13 |
|
8. |
Rufous Woodpeckers |
4.34 |
|
9. |
Langurs in the Sunshine |
4.22 |
Recording of 'Indian Jungle Dawn', pt.4
Shiva sleeps in the vehicle, and we often feel embarrassed to wake him predawn. but this morning he is up at 4.30 knocking on our door. The air is still, and stars shine through the branches overhead,...
Read more >Recording of 'Indian Jungle Dawn', pt.5
A week later, and we have a crazy plan taking shape. In this time we have crossed Orissa, travelling firstly to Kotagar forest in the southwest, and then Sunaberra in the far west of the state. The...
Read more >Recording of 'Indian Jungle Dawn', pt.1
The story of how we came to make this recording begins not in the depths of the forest, but like many of our endeavours in India, in a major city, chasing down bureaucrats. We have arrived in B...
Read more >Recording of 'Indian Jungle Dawn', pt.2
We drive round a corner to find a dozen villagers running along the road ahead of us. They cast anxious glances behind them as they scatter, but smile as we pull alongside. An animated conversation en...
Read more >Recording of 'Indian Jungle Dawn', pt.3
Back at the 'Bison Room', a busload of Indian picnickers has arrived out front, and any peace is shattered by the excited screams of children and a boombox Bollywood soundtrack. The riverfro...
Read more >Recording in India 2006, an introduction
India may seem like an unlikely destination to experience the wilds of nature. With a population of over a billion people, are there any places in the subcontinent that human presence has not over...
Read more >Customer reviews of this album
This is one of my favourites, well they all are, but this one is most wanted!!!
Danny R, Germany, via Facebook
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