The Beast of Dunn’s Swamp

The Beast of Dunn’s Swamp

For the early Australian settlers, camping in the bush must have been a frightening experience. With limited knowledge of Australian fauna, their imaginations no doubt ran wild when hearing some of the rather disconcerting sounds of the bush at night – such as...
Dawn Soundscape from Wollemi National Park

Dawn Soundscape from Wollemi National Park

Last winter I stayed at a campsite at Dunn’s Swamp in Wollemi National Park. It was wonderfully quiet at night, apart from the calls an rustlings of some of the nocturnal wildlife. Before sunrise, I put the microphones out to capture the dawn chorus, but the...
Summer in Wollemi National Park, NSW, Australia

Summer in Wollemi National Park, NSW, Australia

Although it is fairly close to Sydney, Wollemi National Park protects an area of wilderness which is relatively unexplored. My wife & I stayed at a campground on the edge of the reserve & I made many recordings in the area over the course of a few days. This...
Eubenangee Rainforest, Queensland, Australia

Eubenangee Rainforest, Queensland, Australia

The sounds of the rainforest late this afternoon were wonderful. I visited Eubenangee Swamp National Park, about an hours drive south of Cairns, and took a trail which meandered through lowland tropical rainforest alongside a river. Yellow Orioles are the dominant...
Dawn at Lumholtz Lodge, Atherton Tablelands

Dawn at Lumholtz Lodge, Atherton Tablelands

I placed the microphones a few metres from a small stream in upland rainforest and left them to capture the dawn chorus. You can hear the raucous calls of Orange-footed Scrubfowl (one of Australia’s three species of megapode or mound-builder) as well as the unusual...
Frog Chorus on Black Mountain Road

Frog Chorus on Black Mountain Road

Although the wet season hadn’t begun, the frogs had just started calling following some light rain the previous day. Northern Barred Frogs (Mixophyes schevilli) make the wonderfully deep croaks, while the beautiful Orange-thighed Treefrogs (Litoria xanthomera)...
Evening Rhythms – Kuranda, QLD, Australia

Evening Rhythms – Kuranda, QLD, Australia

On a windy night along a logging road near Kuranda, Queensland, a variety of nocturnal creatures harmonize their voices in an unusually rhythmic soundscape. Large-tailed Nightjars call repeatedly with their cosmic ‘chopping’ sound, along with katydids,...