Recording in Nepal for Siddhartha, She @ Aspen

This summer I traveled to India and Nepal to record soundscapes as the sound designer for the opera "Siddhartha, She." Within a few hours in Bardiya National Park, I encounted a large tiger! Below is that tiger.

There are between 5 & 6 thousand tigers estimated in the wild, and so to see one is incredibly rare. I took it as a good omen for the trip.

Pictured below is my guide Rajan, who was the naturalist/conservationist of the year in Asia. He has been the guide for Leo DeCaprio among others. You can see the open top cars that you tour the park in,

I chose to record in Bardiya as it is the most wild and intact ecosystem which is closest to where the original Buddha lived. The Buddha was born in what is now known as Lumbini, however hardly any of the original ecosystem is intact . As a consequence Lumbini is quite loud and lacking in rich or interesting soundscapes. At least, nothing interesting to present with an opera :).

One of my favorite (and most frequent sightings) in the park is the Indian pitta. They were everwhere! They are one of 600+ species present in Bardiya.

A post with more photos and audio is forthcoming!

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Duet between my cat and a woodpecker

In the grey area between biophony and anthrophony, sounds from animals coerced by humans...My cat wants breakfast and so does this red bellied woodpecker.

**Different mornings...

Sandhill Crane soundings

The primordial sounding Sandhill crane has eluded me for a few years, until tonight. You can likely hear these birds for more than a mile, especially as they vocalize when flying.

Listen to the end of this short recording to hear the clearest calls. They often call in pairs– and both when flying and from afar look similar to herons. Up close the coloring is different, and they are much bigger. This particular recording at Independence Lake in Michigan is right around when the season is turning to spring. The cranes are safely on the lake ice. Also in the recording, some red-winged blackbirds, squirrels, geese, mallard ducks, and something that sounds sort of like a chicken clucking??

A few days later, midday, I recorded a crane in flight. You can clearly hear the power of the wings and a single call. This recording is from a distance of greater than 100 yards.