The sounds which emerge during the Australian night are often louder than those during the day. Once the sun sets here the night air is filled with the rhythms and drones of nature. Listening to the interplay of sounds between different species can be quite mesmerising. At any time of the night it is possible to awaken to these sounds, their familiarity being a friendly voice from the darkness:
Meanwhile down on the flats individual sounds can be heard more precisely:
These animals have evolved to create vocalisations which are piercing and distinct, enabling them to survive under the cover of darkness.
For me the sounds of the night create a rewarding sonic experience. Without the distraction of visual cues we are forced to rely upon our auditory senses. It is always enriching to listen to the shadows, imagining the life that exists within them.
Your environment and mine are completely different which gives an extra edge to these sounds for me. Great work. Thanks.
Thanks – I think it is in these warmer months that this region becomes more distinct. I’m waiting to get some stronger recordings as it gets hotter.
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I must compliment you on both the lovely natural field recordings and the landscape photos you’ve managed to capture, not only for this post but also for the others. You certainly have some stunning landscapes around where you live – I just hope they’re not over-developed as mentioned in one of your other posts!
Specific to this post and the flats recording – do you know what species of insect produces that blanket sound of high-pitched whistling noise – it must be approaching the frequency of 10KHz ?
Regards
Thanks for the feedback. It’s a mystery to me as to what the insect is – I’ve only ever heard it. It can be so loud that as I’m driving my car at night I can hear it on the side of the road. I imagine it’s either some type of cricket or cicada. Whenever you get too close it falls into silence and it’s then hard to locate it. Still, a little bit of a mystery can be a good thing.