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In March 2018, I spent four days with the team at Earth Lodge recording the sounds of Ulu Muda and exploring its forests. This particular recording captures the sounds of a pristine stream along with calls of birds, gibbons, otters and other wildlife from the surrounding rainforest. The stream was located well away from the logging concessions further south and the crystal clear water flowed down from untouched hill forest. The sounds of this album represent Ulu Muda’s most valuable resources – biodiversity and fresh, clean water.
The tracks on this album have all been extracted from one long continuous source recording and each track blends seamlessly with the next. For more information on the species recorded on the album see the track listing below. This recording is particularly well-suited for relaxation, tinnitus masking or as a sleeping aid.
Conservation Issues:Â Ulu Muda contains vast lowland & hill rainforests with rich biodiversity. It is also a vital water catchment area for millions of people living in northern Peninsula Malaysia. Although labelled as a ‘forest reserve’, industrial-scale logging concessions are currently active within Ulu Muda and precious habitat is being lost at an alarming rate. Poaching is also a major problem as few, if any resources have been allocated for the protection of wildlife in this area.
Earth Lodge & WWF Malaysia are currently supporting conservation projects with the aim of securing stronger protection and better management of Ulu Muda.
Recorded from around 7am, this first track captures gentle birdsong from the surrounding rainforest. Yellow-crowned & Red-throated Barbets call occasionally from the canopy above, and Great Argus pheasants can be heard making their distinctive and loud ‘kow-wow’ calls in the distance. Other birds heard on this track include Square-tailed Drongo-Cuckoo, Black-and-Yellow Broadbill, Pin-striped Tit-babbler, Chestnut-rumped, Chestnut-winged & Black-capped Babblers. From around 10:20-13:35 the melodious phrases of a Blue-winged Leafbird can be heard, and a Grey-cheeked Bulbul sings from 13:18-16:25.
The Agile Gibbon (Hylobates agilis) is an endangered species of primate with a very limited range. Ulu Muda’s primary forests are a stronghold for this species and each morning their distinctive songs are a dominant feature of the soundscape. At the beginning of this track, Agile Gibbons can be heard in the far distance and later from about 2:55 a pair of gibbons sing loudly from the forest not far upstream. The female gibbon makes the long, sweeping, rising sequence which is known as the ‘great call’.
Another primate species can also be heard in this track – listen for the honking calls of Dusky Langurs (Trachypithecus obscurus) starting at 2:38.
As the gibbons move further away into the forest, the soundscape becomes more subdued. The soft rhythms of stridulating insects gradually increase as the day warms, and the sounds of Green Iora, Raffle’s Malkoha, Hairy-backed Bulbul, Spectacled Bulbul, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo and Oriental Magpie Robin can be heard.
A family of Smooth-coated Otters (Lutrogale perspicillata) make their way upstream, hunting for fish in the shallow water. From about 1:37-2:00 you can hear some interaction calls, and if you listen closely at 4:28 you can even hear one of the otters munching on a fish!
Agile Gibbon (Hylobates agilis), Dusky Langur (Trachypithecus obscurus) & Smooth-coated Otter (Lutrogale perspicillata)