Fitzroy River Gorge — Free nature soundscape player

Welcome

Welcome to Listening Earth Play, where you can listen freely to a range of natural soundscape recordings from around the world.

Listening is a profound sense which connects us with our surroundings. This is especially so in nature, where sound conveys a story of the environment; the voices of living creatures as they go about their activities, a whisper of foliage in the breeze or distant movement of water, and the acoustic of the landscape itself...

Sound stimulates the imagination in ways that images can't, transporting and immersing you in the presence of a wild place. Often, these locations are remote, and beyond our daily experience or ability to easily visit. Soundscape recordings offer an intimate experience of nature that is unique to time and place, and full of life.

As a listener, you are not simply hearing the sounds of an exotic habitat, you are hearing the voices of life beyond your daily preoccupations. A good nature recording allows other species to speak for themselves, and remind us of why they - and we - belong on this planet.
About

These nature recordings are the work of sound recordist Andrew Skeoch, and his partner, photographer Sarah Koschak. Through their label, Listening Earth, Andrew and Sarah have so far released nearly one hundred albums, the outcome of decades of work and field expeditions, representing wild locations across many continents from the tropics to the boreal tundra.

These recordings, along with new releases, will progressively be added to Listening Earth Play.

Andrew discusses his approach to nature recording:

"In my field work, I attempt to capture the sounds of nature as you would hear if you were there. I use a pair of highly sensitive microphones, which in some aspects are more acute than our ears. These are mounted binaurally (ie; similar to our head and ears), so as to capture a rich stereo field and present a lifelike sense of distance and space.

"My aim is to place the microphones in the landscape where the dynamics and balance of sound is aesthetically interesting. I prefer not to record creatures too close, but allow them to be heard in the context of the landscape. I also aim for movement, for instance placing microphones where birds may fly past creating left-right stereo movement. Then there is space and the reverberence of the habitat itself; the contrast between foreground and the softening of far off sounds.

"Anticipating where sound may come from can be quite challenging. In some habitats, such as wetlands or waterways, the sources of sound are localised, and it is easy to position the microphones for a rich sound stage. In woodlands however, it may be less predictable, and the optimal spot more difficult to locate.

"All this requires reading the habitat, anticipating where birds and animals will interact. Once the microphones are placed and the recorder switched on, I walk away, removing my presence from influencing creatures, leaving my equipment running for many hours at a time.

"Sometimes I get it right, and wonderful recordings result. But whatever choices I make, I know that the secret to an exceptional recording is always persistence and luck - waiting for nature to do something serendipitous.

"Over the years I have come to appreciate the silences of natural habitats as much as their activity. So I prefer to let you hear unedited recordings, where events occur at a natural pace, as this is true to nature and relaxes the mind. And of course, headphone listening is recommended."

Each recording here is also available as an album that you can purchase and download.

Due to the limitations of internet streaming, the audio has been encoded for optimal delivery. It should sound pretty good. However if you'd like to experience the clarity, depth and transparency of the original recordings, listen offline, or enjoy the convenience of owning them, then downloading is recommended. Just follow the purchase link for each album to the Listening Earth website*.

"Listening Earth began as a commercial recording label, and continues to be. However by making these recordings freely available to a wider audience, we hope to promote appreciation of the natural world, and care for its conservation. We remain dependant on the support of our listeners to continue. Purchasing an album or two is a great way to assist our work, and we appreciate it."

* Note: as you can only download and synch your devices on a desktop, our regular website is not optimised for small mobile screens.
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Fitzroy River Gorge

From the Kimberley plateau of northern Australia, the Fitzroy River flows through a set of narrow switchback gorges, flowing out into still, dark pools. Flanked by bare rock shelves, these deep waterholes provide a focus for birdlife in the otherwise dry savannah country.

In the hour after dawn, we sit overlooking the water, listening to the morning activity. The bare rock shelves around us are not much frequented, so most of the birdlife is heard from the far riverbank. The songs and calls of rock pigeons, bee-eaters, friarbirds, black cockatoos, honeyeaters and butcherbirds drift on the air, echoing from the rocks.

Overhead, fairy martins sweep and dive on the wing, hawking insects and twittering animatedly. From hardy shrubs nearby, their roots lodged in rock crevices, come the songs of paperbark flycatchers and the distinctive rasping of a great bowerbird. Groups of double-barred finches pass by with plaintive calls and quick wingbeats.

Eventually we transition to the late afternoon, listening to the sounds of the landscape as the day fades. Fairy martins still call pleasantly, while a pair of darters who've been drying their wings in the remaining light, take to the air, flapping noisily across the water. A willie wagtail and the bowerbird signal the approaching evening.

"This recording was made to highlight the conservation work of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy on their Mornington property. The extensive reserve is restored cattle country, and the Fitzroy River runs right through the heart of it.

"When we first arrived at the outflow of the upper gorge, my initial thought was that the extensive rock shelves would not provide enough habitat for an engaging recording. But as I set up microphones overlooking the water that first afternoon, the cheery voices of those fairy martins gave me encouragement. If they were all I recorded, I'd be happy.

"As it turned out, the landscape held great richness. I realised this with excitement at my first sighting of a White-quilled Rock Pigeon. Of course - the rocky escarpments were its perfect habitat! You can hear them fly across the water with clattering wingbeats on several occasions, and their soft calls carry quietly from the far bank. And then, another first; the full-bodied song of a Sandstone Shrike-thrush from further up the gorge.

"Listening to the landscape, I became aware of the acoustics of the location; the soft roar of cataracts upstream, birdsong echoing off the hard rocks, the contrast between martins calling immediately overhead and more distant birdsong from afar. This presence of the landscape gives everything you hear a context. It tells a story of place and what lives there. Its one of the things I love capturing in a recording.

"Another is time. Even though similar species are heard in the morning and afternoon, there is a very different feel at the beginning and end of the day; the afternoon stiller, relaxed, somehow expectant. These qualities make this a recording I'm especially pleased with."

This recording was made at Sir John Gorge on the Fitzroy River, which flows through the 320,000 hectare Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary, owned and administered by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy.

Mornington is a retired cattle property, now run for the conservation of natural ecosystems and wildlife. By removing cattle and other invasive species, the AWC are doing a marvellous job of restoring the landscape to its former glory. Cat eradication, controlled fire regimes and wildlife research are just some of the programs currently being enacted.

Mornington really is a special place. I say this partly because you can see the landscape restoration, but also because the soundscape is rich, diverse and vibrant. This gorge was a location with own unique species, such as the rare white-quilled Rock Pigeon and Sandstone Shrike-thrush.

Our thanks to the AWC for supporting our visit.

Purchase and download this album for the finest audio quality, the convenience of offline listening, and adding to your music library.

Also links to photo gallery for this album

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Listening Earth - Free nature soundscape player

Listen now - free nature sounds and wild soundscapes recorded by Andrew Skeoch - birdsong, ocean surf, rain, forest, night sounds - ideal for relaxation, sleep, study or to feel the ambience of nature. Mp3 stream or download flac hi-res audio.