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Re: Re: recording in Hawaii (was: Need help with Sound Devices 722!)

Subject: Re: Re: recording in Hawaii (was: Need help with Sound Devices 722!)
From: "David Kuhn" <>
Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2005 13:28:38 -1000
Hi Natalie,

>What groups are you working with? Are you a researcher
> yourself?

I work with variously with USGSBRD and USFWS folks, as well as state projects, 
and private 
reseaarchers. My own projects employing audio work include a comparison of 
Apapane and I'iwi 
vocalizations thruout the islands, suspecting that they will speciate; 
searching with directional 
mic (Telinga stereo) for nest sites of Band-rumped Storm-petrel--known to nest 
on Kaua'i but whose 
nest remains unobserved, and several others in incubation. My work as a bird 
and wildlife guide (as 
Terran Tours) has taken me to the best habitats in the islands, and has enabled 
me to record 
(nearly) all the extant endemic birds. While I continue to improve my 
recordings of individual 
species, my main effort has evolved into capturing the ephemeral biophonies 
(love using that term, 
Bernie)--as you must know, Hawaii is painfully distinguished as "the extinction 
capital of the 
planet", and things change all the time, almost never for the better.

> We're working on the NE side of Hawaii, in wet rainforest sites. I
> was
> planning on recording for 1 hour, 4 times a day (dawn, noon, dusk,
> 10pm) in order to get 'everyone's' (birds, insects, frogs etc.)
> signals

Sounds like Hakalau Refuge, on Windward Mauna Kea, one of my favorite and best 
known places in the 
Islands--glorious upper-elevation climax forest (Koa, Ohia) with a recovering 
understory. Frogs you 
won't find up that high, except  for the odd Bullfrog, and maybe the 
Wrinkle-skin frog, another 
alien) You will, however, find Coqui downslope from Hakalau, below around 400 
meters. It is feared 
that Coqui may advance into native forest, devouring native insects, including 
the wonderful 
crickets. You  may be enchanted by the crickets, diurnal and nocturnal endemic 
flightless tree 
crickets,several hundred species thruout the Islands, each with a distinctive 
stridulation (check 
out the landmark book by Dan Otte, "The Crickets of Hawaii", with spectograms). 
Crickets are a 
significant part of the biophonies here, especially at night. I'll try to post 
a sample.

>I'm hoping that at our field
> sites, this won't be the case, since there are no jet overflights
> allowed in the area.

Jets are seldom a problem in Hakalau--wind is likely to be a problem, 
however--though you will be 
here at the time the tradewinds are most likely to drop for a few days at a 
time--patience required. 
Take all precautions to protect your gear and yourself from wet and cold 
conditions.

>Any idea how to get a spectogram out of a WAV file without too much
> difficulty

Keep in touch Natalie, good luck--
Aloha,
David

> --- In  "nbioacoustics"
> <> wrote:
> Hi David,
> Wow, I wish I could download all the relevant information in your
> brain then! What groups are you working with? Are you a researcher
> yourself?
>
> We're working on the NE side of Hawaii, in wet rainforest sites. I
> was
> planning on recording for 1 hour, 4 times a day (dawn, noon, dusk,
> 10pm) in order to get 'everyone's' (birds, insects, frogs etc.)
> signals.
>
> I tested out the recorder and mics last night near Stanford, but
> there
> is SO much noise from jets and cars and buses etc. that I couldnever
> 'hear' the insects here I don't think. I'm hoping that at our field
> sites, this won't be the case, since there are no jet overflights
> allowed in the area.
>
> Any idea how to get a spectogram out of a WAV file without too much
> difficulty (using free software)? I've been fiddling with Audacity,
> which is great for viewing a spectogram, but won't let me save the
> data. I've also been trying to make a spectrogram in Matlab, but
> haven't quite figured it out yet.
>
> Natalie :)
>
>
>
> --- In  "David Kuhn" <>
> wrote:
>> Hi Natalie,
>> Wherever you will be working, feel free to contact me in Hawaii--
> I've
>> been recording here ten years, live in native forest on Kaua'i,
> and am
>> intimately familiar with most all native forest
> habitats/biophonies in
>> the Islands. I'm involved in several research projects, and am
>> interested in any work involving audio study of
>> biodiversity/conservation in the Islands.
>>
>> Contact me on or off list, best at dkuhn012001 at yahoo.com, phone
> 808
>> 335 0398.
>>
>> Aloha,
>> David
>>
>> --- In  "nbioacoustics"
>> <> wrote:
>> > Hi there,
>> > I just bought a 722, which I plan on using in Hawaii in 3 weeks
> to
>> > record biophony for a scientific study of biodiversity.  I am
> used to
>> > working with plants, so I don't know much about this stuff. Help!
>> >
>> > I'm trying to figure out why when I am recording, I can hear
> sounds
>> in
>> > both headphones, but then when I playback my recording, I only
> get
>> > sound out of the left headphone...
>> >
>> > Does anyone have the patience to help me out?
>> >
>> > Thanks.
> --- End forwarded message ---
>
>
>
>
> 






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