Marty Michener wrote:
>
> At 10:47 AM 8/4/02 -0400, you wrote:
> >They will call if it rains, so we ran a sprinkler. Their call is so soft
> >that most calls you can't hear if they are at your feet. And I was
> >having to deal with the various house air conditioners in the
> >neighborhood. The frogs were in the leaf litter under some thick low
> >bushes in the yard. I ended up recording with the Telinga from a
> >distance of about 2', the tops of the bushes, probably something of a
> >record for close mic work with a parabolic. The reflector helped to cut
> >down the noise from the air conditioners. It's still going to take a lot
> >of filtering.
>
> Headline:
> PARABOLAS BAFFLE NATURE RECORDISTS, NOT AIR-CONDITIONERS.
>
> Parabolas have a known physics; they are lenses, and when you bring
> the object closer, as with an optical lens, you need to focus them to
> have the image continue to fall near the microphone. They do NOT
> filter the sound, they do NOT gather the sound, they focus the sound,
> and they probably make a bad choice as a baffle, compared to overcoats,
> pillows, beer coolers or foam mattresses.
I did have a pillow, but my coolers were full, and not of beer. And I
was not about to dump them out. Cold things to drink are essential in
the field down here. Other than those choices I did not have a overcoat
as it was a bit warm for one. And my mattress is a airbed and very
awkward to get out of the back of the pickup as it's usually covered
with stuff.
I will admit that somehow I'd not thought beforehand about air
conditioners, though it was a obvious problem I'd face. If I were to do
it again, I'd probably have some foam along to set up shields. The air
conditioners are all on automatic controls, so are constantly coming on
and cutting off. But it was not to be that all of them would be off at
the same time.
In most cases frogs are not limited to residential areas, but the source
of this exotic, pot plants brought from Florida, means that's about the
only place it is so far. I expect in 5 - 10 years I'll be able to record
them all over coastal Georgia, they should like it.
> When the object is very close, the image gets startlingly far away, but we are
> usually so glad to be near our subject that we just record anyway and forget
> these nicities. With a frog call that is "hard to hear", however, we might
> want to try: a one-to-one setting, where Object distance, O is EQUAL to the
> Image distance, I. In this case each would then be at 80 cm. (about 2 1/2
> feet).
While a nice idea, the bushes in question would have destroyed the foam
on the mic shoving it in. Both the mic and the reflector (which I knew
was only acting as a barrier) were at the tops of the thick hedge like
bush. Neither could be gotten closer. In addition, I'd pulled the mic
all the way as far into the reflector as I could, moving it even farther
away from focus. I did not get any gain from the reflector most likely,
but I did not need any. I was specifically and knowingly using it only
as a barrier.
> At this point, a shotgun mic user, perhaps a bit tired of hearing people
> on this list repeatedly berate his equipment as "only shutting off sound",
> would likely burst a gut, laughing - just point the mic itself at the creature
> and forget the parabola! Oh yes, and maybe turn the mic around so it can
> hear the frog better. We all know there must be a real limit to the word
> "omnidirectional".
But, you see, one of the mics I had along and did try was my MKH-816s,
which I think qualify as shotguns. They are new to me this year, but I'm
constantly trying them to learn where they work and where they don't.
The air conditioner sounds were definitely worse than the Telinga setup.
So go right ahead and laugh, I thought I looked pretty silly too and had
some trouble not laughing while recording. Theory is one thing, trying
it out another. I suppose I should have recorded some of the 816's to
have to show, but I was focused on getting the recording and just
listened and put them away. If the 816's were not so long I might have
disassembled the Telinga to put around them, maybe that would have
helped. I carry them stored in a couple lengths of PVC pipe and did
briefly consider using the pipes. But the fit is pretty tight and
probably would not have worked. At minimum it would have sounded like in
a pipe.
So you see field trials win over theory. Though there was no win here,
just surviving.
> you also wrote:
> With that I'm down to one Georgia frog I've not recorded, Brimley's
> Chorus Frog. They won't be calling until February or so, and are very
> rare in Georgia, I've been trying for them for a couple years already.
>
> Good luck, Walt, they are retiring. The Brimley's I caught in South Carolina
> were calling in April, but they were not in chorus (under roadside boards)
> and I am sure you are much more aware of their entire season than I,
> who only visited their range that one time.
It's more that it's been 10 years since anyone has found one in Georgia.
I'm stubborn and have tried to make my Georgia frogs all recorded in
Georgia, so have devoted quite a few evenings hunting in Georgia for
them. If I go over into South Carolina, they are not hard to find. April
would be way tail end for them I'd think. But, then I've recorded
another one of our winter species (Upland Chorus Frogs) in July, mixed
in with more normal summer callers. And Spring Peepers in July too,
though they normally call a little later than other early callers. In
both cases they were up in what passes for mountains in Georgia.
I'll record Brimley's in Sough Carolina this next season just to have
some. And also continue sifting Georgia for them, I've some new leads to
try. They and the Pine Barrens Treefrog, which has not been officially
documented in Georgia are two of my long term hunts. Most species I've
found in the first few tries, but these are tougher.
Walt
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