September 2019
On expeditions in unfamiliar areas, it might happen that the sheer number of interesting sounds
overwhelms you. Especially when no man made noise pollutes the soundscape. In such a situation,
I either prefer not to make any sound recordings at all or to quickly decide what to focus on.
In a valley in Central Mongolia, I was looking/hearing for Godlewski’s Buntings. In the very moment
I found a singing male, two shepherd boys with more than 100 horses came up the slope – straight
towards me. Immediately it was clear that a clean recording of the bunting would never succeed under
these circumstances. On the other hand, the chance to record such a large herd of horses would not
be that easy anymore – especially since they were still far enough to bring my recording rig well
into position…
PFR09436, 130606, herders and horses, Mongolia