The Third Silence

Dawn in the Bunyaroo gorge, in Ikara/Flinders Ranges. Red-Capped Robin and Rufous Whistler dominate, along with the usual assortment of smaller bush birds. The very elongated whistler call was cool to hear, it kept peeping far longer most I’ve heard.

The sound of the first light dusting of snow of winter, falling on the dead leaves in the forest.

A very autumnal (and Nuthatch-y) dawn chorus deep in a creekline in Schönbuch, here in Tübingen. Recorded November 2024.

Crickets and a bit of wind through the dry wheat one late summer evening, along the Ammertal in Tübingen.

An hour after sunrise at the deer hut on Dickenberg during the rut. A stag calls, but at this hour it’s mostly the morning chorus of birds, a rather persistent Jay, and a Woodpecker pecking on the tree the microphones were secured to.

In late 2021, we spent a week camping near Lake Hattah in the mallee in norwest Victoria, AU. The lakes had filled over winter, and the first night was one of the most impressive soundscapes I’d ever heard, thousands of pobblebonks and other frogs echoing around a huge lake. It’s not captured overly well in this recording, but the way calls of thousands of frog calls ricochet around a large lake was truly amazing. The main species are Pobblebonk (the deeper “donk” calls), I think Uperoleia laevigata (the higher pitched “reekkk” frog calls), as well as some coots, moorhen, ducks, and cockatoos. You can see the photos from that trip here.

The dawn birdcalls from a small patch of woods in Tübingen city. A lot of birds, and a bit of distant city bustle.

The evening bells of several churches in Moneglia reverberate around the bay, as a blackbird calls and the waves crash on the distant breakwater.

This recording starts quietly just before dawn with the very first birds of the morning, but soon rises to a cacophony of many different birds. Later, the frogs kick in. Recorded May 2024.

This is a longer version of last week’s recording of a very birdy morning in Tübingen last spring. In this full clip you hear the full evolution of the chorus from well before dawn, when only a few blackbirds were calling, through a few showers of rain, and ending with a cacophony of bird calls about half an hour after sunrise.

A very birdy morning in Tübingen last spring. Starts well before dawn, when only a few blackbirds were calling, and ends with a cacophony of various species about half an hour after sunrise. This is a shorter excerpt from a quite long recording I’ll post next week.

An extract from an overnight recording of red deer stags calling during the rut. Recorded in Schönbuch, near Tübingen, DE, in September 2023.

This was Tübingen last new years eve: an impressively loud fireworks display all up and down the valley. The recording ends with the deafening crescendo around midnight, which filled the valley with smoke and sent the year out with slightly too many explosions. Caution, this is a fairly loud recording in places so perhaps turn down the headphones!

A big storm rolled in over Tübingen one summer evening. Recorded in the forest on the hill above our place, just as the first rain hit.

A chorus of Marsh Frog (Pelophylax ridibundus) at the Birkensee, in Schönbuch, DE. Recorded on one of the first proper hot days of this Summer (2023).

Recorded overnight in late 2020, featuring many bats, insects, a few nightjar, and some Wood Ducks.

A short clip of a bunch of Crinia signfiera and/or C. parasignifera calling near our house. Recorded in Canberra in Spring 2020.

This was one evening from near our campsite at Coward Springs, along the Oodnadatta track at the south end of Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre. Featuring a very persistent Willie Wagtail, along with a bunch of insects and bats.

Recorded one afternoon in Namadgi NP (near Canberra) in winter a couple of years ago. Lyrebirds have an amazing repertoire of mimicry, some of which is captured here. Also featuring a frog-laden small creek and an assortment of other wet eucalypt forest birds. (Image by L.T.)

A few clips from walking around the old town here in Tübingen on Christmas Eve 2022. Merry Christmas, and „einen guten Rutsch!” to all.

Various frogs, insects, and the occasional microbat around a semi-arid waterhole in Callitris woodland/mallee. Recorded at Round Hill, NSW, in October 2020.

A typical evening in Canberra, featuring the local Cockies and misc other birds. Recorded during lockdown in April 2020.

The dusk chorus at our local swamp on Phillip Island. Starts with the last birds of the day before the frogs start up for the night. You can hear the waves crashing on the surf beach not too far away. Recorded in Spring 2021.

Some highlights of a rainy night in Schönbuch, BaWü, DE. Featuring Red Deer, Tawny Owl, and some rain. Recorded September 2022.