Hello John,
You wrote:
> I hope one day to get downunder and hear them live. Locations would be
> appreciated.
I hadn't intended my previous message to Richard Ranft to go to
naturerecordists, but I will make this one general, just in case there's
anyone else interested in lyrebird locations.
1. Albert's Lyrebird, Menura alberti
Confined to a small area north and south of the Queensland/New South
Wales border. Mt Mistake (27*55 S. 152*21 E.) is the northern limit. The
Blackwall Range (28*58 S. 153*25 E) near Ballina is the southern.
2. Superb Lyrebird, M. novaehollandiae
Extends from just north of the Q/NSW border near Wallangarra, south to
Victoria. Introduced into Tasmania (in the '30s and '40s) where the specie=
s
is now well established.
3. M. tyawanoides
Fossil species described by Walter Boles of the Australian Museum,
Sydney. No sound and therefore not considered further here.
Lyrebird locations for visitors from overseas:
Royal National Park near Sydney has Superb Lyrebirds.
>From Melbourne, Sherbrooke Forest had the only population of Superbs that
tolerated human observers. I think it still has, but that needs checking.
The Healesville Sanctuary, not far from Sherbrooke Forest, had captive
Superbs, and I think still does.
Canberra - Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve has Superbs.
Hobart - Mt Field National Park and the Hastings River Caves area both have
Superbs.
For Superb Lyrebirds, choice of locality is likely to be determined by what
else you intend doing.
For Albert's Lyrebirds come to Brisbane. Tamborine Mt, about 70 road km
south is the nearest location. June/July you can drive to the Knoll NP on
Tamborine Mt and hear an Albert's Lyrebird without getting out of the car -
if he happens to be singing. From 6:30 to 7:30 AM is probably the most
reliable time. That same spot gives an impressive dawn chorus of a good
variety of birds in Spring - say September, with a fair chance of a lyrebir=
d
still calling.
Lamington NP is further from Brisbane, but offers still more species as wel=
l
as the Albert's. Either of the two resorts (Binna Burra and O'Reilly's) ar=
e
fine, but at present O'Reilly's boasts the only individual male lyrebird
ever, that will tolerate (to some extent) a human observer. But note: I
estimate his age to be close to 30 years. No-one knows how long Albert
Lyrebirds live. He was singing well a month ago.
General matters
Lyrebirds are intensely shy. With few exceptions they see the would-be
human observer and depart before you get even a glimpse of them. John
Gould, the noted British ornithologist, wrote that of all the birds in the
world that he had encountered the Superb Lyrebird was by far the most
difficult to approach.
On the other hand, for sound-recordists the Superb Lyrebird offers this
attraction: he sings and displays from easily recognised earth mounds that
he constructs, offering the possibility of installing a mic, or concealing
oneself in advance and waiting for the concert to begin. Trouble is, he
will have a dozen or so mounds and how to choose which one he's going to us=
e
is a problem. (Put a Sennheiser mic on a long cable on each mound, and the
problem is licked. But who can afford a dozen mics?)
Albert's Lyrebirds do not build mounds, but display on far from obvious
'platforms' of a few thin vines or sticks lying loosely on the ground.
Makes recording an Albert's a bit more of a challenge. But if you succeed
there is chance that your recording may include his 'gronking song' with
its' peculiar soft rhythmic notes.
As seen in a beautiful video which O'Reilly's sell, the bird grasps a vine
or stick and taps it on another in perfect time with the rhythmic notes he
is singing. If the sticks/vines are dry, the tapping sound will be heard o=
n
your recording. He is using rhythm sticks. Which possibly makes him the
only species of bird in the world to accompany its song with a musical
instrument!
If intending to seek lyrebirds, I'll be happy to advise re Albert's, once I
know your travel intentions. And to seek advice for you for Superbs.
Cheers
Syd
> From: "Neville Recording" <>
> Reply-To:
> Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 16:03:03 -0700
> To: <>
> Subject: [Nature Recordists] Lyrebird
>
> Hi Syd;
> I am really looking forward to hearing your lyrebirds on the next WSRS CD=
. I
> hope one day to get downunder and hear them live.Locations would be
> appreciated.
> John Neville
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________________________________________________________________________
>From Tue Mar 8 18:22:38 2005
Message: 7
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 09:09:16 +0100
From:
Subject: Re: Re: mayah flashman compactflash recorder
I doubt very much if Mayah will be implementing AAC or MP3Pro at any time
soon. The Flashman is designed for broadcast use , and is not that 'pro' a=
machine anyway. I don't know if any of you have actually seen one, but
it's certainly not up to serious professional location recording use. It's=
a very plasticy and lightweight handheld unit, with several pieces which
look like they would easily break under any kind of usage. I may however
be biased !!
Best Wishes
Matt
Matt Jarvis
Product Marketing Manager
Marantz Professional Europe
Kingsbridge House, Padbury Oaks, 575-583 Bath Road, Longford, Middx, UB7
0EH, United Kingdom
+447796610410 - Mobile
+441753686080 - UK Office
+441753686020 - Fax
"oryoki2000" <>
2002-08-13 17:19
Please respond to naturerecordists
To:
cc: (bcc: Matt Jarvis/LGD/CE/PHILIPS)
Subject: [Nature Recordists] Re: mayah flashman compactflash=
recorder
Classification:
Walter Knapp wrote:
> Do you know if the flashman records
> mp3 Pro or any of the other newer mp3
> formats coming out... Are these things
> that can be upgraded by the flash port?
I wrote to and they confirmed
that the firmware in the Flashman could be
updated to new codecs via the RS-232 port.
Their reply indicated that they continue to
evaluate new encoding technologies, but that
their product offering is driven by market
demand as much as by technology.
In other words, when a newer codec is widely
accepted by recordists, Mayah will upgrade to
stay competitive. My guess is that we'll see
MPEG-4 AAC added before we see new MP3 codecs
in the Flashman.
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