A Morning in Kutini-Payamu - Album Cover

Cape York:
Predawn on the Claudie River

A nocturnal soundscape from the rainforests of Cape York Peninsula.

Recording Location: Iron Range NP, Cape York, Australia
Habitat: Tropical rainforest
Duration: 34 minutes (2 tracks)
Year of Release: 2019 © All rights reserved
Download Formats: mp3 & FLAC (48kHZ/24bit)

$8

Predawn on the Claudie River

Album Description

Recorded in the darkness before dawn, deep in the rainforest of Cape York Peninsula, this album features an unusual, engaging nocturnal soundscape. One of the main watercourses flowing through the northern section of Iron Range National Park, the Claudie River is a haven for frogs, birds and other wildlife. The tracks on this album were extracted from recordings from two different locations along the Claudie River made on the same night.

Both tracks on the album feature similar species – the laughing, squelching calls of Australian Wood Frogs (Papurana daemeli) can be heard throughout, along with the gurgles and crowing of Orange-footed Scrubfowl. Occasionally, Marbled Frogmouths call from the forest mid-storey, making their bizarre gobbling calls. More information on each track and species recorded can be found below.

Listen to a Sample

Recording Location

Map - Iron Range, Australia

Track Listing

1. Deep in the Night (19:44)

On a bend of the Claudie River in the still of night, countless crickets and other insects trill and pulse from the surrounding rainforest. Australian Wood Frogs (Papurana daemeli) make squelching, laughing calls from the river’s edge and Orange-footed Scrubfowl crow from their night roosts in the forest mid-storey. From 7:10 a Marbled Frogmouth makes the ‘kooloo, kooloo, kooloo’ call and later in the track (eg. 15:04) you can hear its bizarre gobbling call and bill snap. Occasionally, the wingbeats of flying-foxes can be heard thumping overhead, as these large fruit bats search the canopy for figs and other fruit. At 12:22 the unusual barking, squeaking call of a cuscus can be heard.

2. Predawn Darkness (14:40)

This second track was recorded further along the river, in a patch of tall forest with an open understorey. In the last moments before dawn, the insects slow in intensity and the sounds are more sparse and subdued. Australian Wood Frogs continue to call but are more distant, and their calls reverberate in the open forest gully. From about 11:40, White-faced Robin & Dusky Myzomela, the first of the diurnal birds begin to sing as the dim forest begins to brighten.

Species heard on this album include:

Orange-footed Scrubfowl (Megapodius reinwardt), Marbled Frogmouth (Podargus ocellatus), Noisy Pitta (Pitta versicolor), White-faced Robin (Tregellasia leucops), Dusky Myzomela (Myzomela obscura), Eastern Tube-nosed Bat (Nyctimene robinsoni), Common Spotted Cuscus (Spilocuscus maculatus), Australian Wood Frog (Papurana daemeli).

Photos from the Recording Location