You know Spring is here in the Northeast when the peepers are out. I
suspect that populations in Southern Westchester (suburban New York
City) have been calling for a week or two now. I first heard them last
Thursday near Pleasantville.
Last night my lady and I drove to Harriman State Park to record a
little Spring (and test the new mic rig). Harriman is a patch of
forest between the Palisades Parkway and highway 87 on the west side
of the Hudson river, 30 miles north of Manhattan. Thankfully there are
still undeveloped areas around NYC.
I have found Spring peepers notoriously difficult to record. They are
loud, usually come in groups of hundreds, and have a call whose
frequency peaks right where my ears are the most sensitive. Peepers
alone are not always the most exciting natural soundscape, but they
are certainly a welcome sound after a cold quiet winter.
The recordings were made with a parallel boundary array using (2)
AT4022s and a sphere foam nose with the mics set back about 1/2". The
boundaries are pine lumber measuring 5.75" W x 4.5" H x 1" depth with
a 1" bevel at about 30 degrees in the front, sloping to meet the
sphere surface. The mics are spaced 7" apart. I used a thin artificial
fleece material as a wind breaker. The recordings are the first
outdoor test of this rig.
http://soundcloud.com/dmichael/sets/spring-peepers-in-harriman-state-park
m("N08/sets/72157623595133987/","//www.flickr.com/photos/13902208");">http:
David
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