I have also noticed this phenomenon of birds singing more loudly or
vigorously during an airplane flyby. I originally attributed it to
Murphy's law, the best stuff was always destroyed by human noise.=20
Then, one day while recording a Mountain Bluebird song I noticed he
sang louder during loud wind gusts and quieted when the wind calmed.
Certainly birds and frogs have vocalized in the presence of white noise
(wind, waves, waterfalls, rushing creeks) for millions of years and
must have some adaptations for it, depending on the species and habitat
involved. I wonder if anyone has studied this natural adaptation to
nature's noise. Bernie and others, what do you know about this?
Kevin Colver
On Monday, September 5, 2005, at 10:02 AM, Don Lloyd wrote:
> I recall that Don Hunter produced a couple of LPs in the 50's,
> featuring
> some very long takes of steam locomotives idling, braking, chuffing up
> steep
> grades and whistling down canyonways. Haven't come across any CD
> reissues,
> though. (I wonder if he edited out any bird calls or animal sounds as
> "noise.")
>
> I believe some critters take advantage of pink noise 'confusing the
> space',
> as you put it. Whilst recording in marshes, I've noticed frogs and
> red-wing
> blackbirds (among others) piping up when a jet plane blankets the area
> in
> pink noise, or when a diesel truck downshifts on a nearby hill. When
> the jet
> or truck fades away, the frog chorus has reached critical mass and
> continues
> on its own for a while, only to eventually die down and await the next
> protective, predator-disorienting pink blanket.
>
> Clearly, the real trick to enjoying machine sounds (and the dinosaur
> spirits
> dwelling therein) is being able to start and stop them at will. That's
> okay
> for me, but my houseguests and neighbors might disagree. ;>)
>
> -- Don
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From:
> On Behalf Of Rob Danielson
> Sent: Sunday, September 04, 2005 11:50 AM
> To:
> Subject: RE: [Nature Recordists] historical recordings (was respectful,
> "topic" question
>
> Great link Don! Even the few, chopped=A0 whistles
> tweaked my full curiosity. I found myself
> longing to hear several different recordings of
> whistle blasts shrinking into valleys of Oregon.
>
> I wonder, what medium, other than sound, can
> claim to be a better historical record of the
> experience of space?=A0 Can't all animals can
> navigate by hearing where they are? Some species
> use local resonances to amplify their calls and
> sometimes its easier to hear these naturally
> reinforced frequencies when "struck" by a solo
> truck emerging out of the quiet in the same
> direction. The phasing rumbling drones of a
> train, a high altitude jet, a single engine plane
> or a Harley can be very mesmerizing, especially
> when set in relief. The chords from these sources
> can be more complex than those of a ship's horn;
> what prejudice is it that can make a ship's horn
> seem more pleasing?
>
> Multiple loud sources and pink noise "roars" like
> those of compressors, jets and traffic confuse
> the space. I have to be geared-up, mentally, to
> find pleasures in the confusion, but some people
> find this experience of space exhilarating, even
> "communicative," in a limited sense.
>
> Any one know where can one get the graphite for
> making historical nature mics? Rob D.
>
> =A0 =3D =3D =3D =3D
>
> At 11:13 AM -0700 9/4/05, Don Lloyd wrote:
> >There are trainrecordists, of course. Don Hunter comes to mind:
> >
> >=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0
> http://natural-history.uoregon.edu/Pages/dh_virtual_tour/home.html
> >
> >A major part of his legacy consists of many archival recordings of
> steam
> >locomotives all over the Pacific Northwest, captured in the 40=92s and
> 50=92s
> >when they were still operating. He wanted to preserve certain
> soundscapes
> >that he knew were vanishing. The recordings that are being done right
> now
> in
> >Muir Woods and other parks will eventually have historic value as
> well.
> >While I can thoroughly enjoy listening to Hunter's recordings, just
> now I
> >can't imagine deriving pleasure from listening to airplanes.
> >
> >(In keeping with the microphone tech threads, I=92ll mention that Hunter
> built
> >his own mic=92s in the 30=92s, using cigar boxes and graphite.)
> >
> >-- Don
> >
> >
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From:
> > On Behalf Of Lou Judson
> >Sent: Saturday, September 03, 2005 5:19 PM
> >To:
> >Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] respectful, "topic" question
> >
> >Hmmm, are there trainrecordists too?=A0 Never mind.
> >
> ><L>
> >On Sep 3, 2005, at 6:16 PM, Lou Judson wrote:
> >
> >>=A0 "Some railfans like to use the term Ferroequinology (the study of
> the
> >>=A0 Iron Horse)"
> >>
> >>=A0 which, while cute, is about as off topic as one can get!
> >>
> >>=A0 <L>
> >
> >
> >
> >"Microphones are not ears,
> >Loudspeakers are not birds,
> >A listening room is not nature."
> >Klas Strandberg
> >
> >
> >SPONSORED LINKS
> >Science kits
> >Science education
> >Science kit for kid
> >Natural sound
> >Recording technique
> >My first science kit
> >
> >
> >YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
> >
> >=95 =A0Visit your group "naturerecordists" on the web.
> >
> >=95 =A0To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> >=A0
> >
> >=95 =A0Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
> Service.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >"Microphones are not ears,
> >Loudspeakers are not birds,
> >A listening room is not nature."
> >Klas Strandberg
> >Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Rob Danielson
> Film Department
> University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
>
>
> "Microphones are not ears,
> Loudspeakers are not birds,
> A listening room is not nature."
> Klas Strandberg
>
>
> SPONSORED LINKS
> Science kits
> Science education
> Science kit for kid
> Natural sound
> Recording technique
> My first science kit
>
>
> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
> =95 =A0Visit your group "naturerecordists" on the web.
> =A0
> =95 =A0To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> =
> =A0
> =95 =A0Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Servic=
e.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "Microphones are not ears,
> Loudspeakers are not birds,
> A listening room is not nature."
> Klas Strandberg
>
>
>
> SPONSORED LINKS
<image.tiff>
>
>
<image.tiff>
>
> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
> + =A0Visit your group "naturerecordists" on the web.
> =A0
> + =A0To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> =
> =A0
> + =A0Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
>
<image.tiff>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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