Quiet ambiance of the mud flats and salt marshes on the Oosterschelde river in the Netherlands.
It is quiet and as summer draws to a close there are few birds. Here you can hear the sound of the ‘big nothing’ (hearing threshold level 28 dBA, less than whispering).
Birds detected by Merlin Bird ID;
#0:02 Herring Gull
#1:14 #2:29 #4:02 #4:23 Black-headed Gull
#1:35 Eurasian Oystercatcher
#3:14 Common Sandpiper
What is noticeable if you listen carefully is the prattle, crackle and creak of the mudflats and salt marshes one meter below the microphones. There are millions of snails, worms and other small animals in the bottom that together make the sound.
I came here specifically to establish the ambiance with this mud sound. Little wind was predicted, so it's worth the trip. I will surely return here sometime in the spring when thousand of birds are feeding and breading here.
The morning begins with a gentle breeze that gradually gets a little stronger.
It is low tide and the water will remain distant and inaudible throughout this sound recording.
About the mudflats and salt marshes,
A mudflat, where I am now, is an ever-dry plate in a saline tidal area. Mudflats fall dry at low tide and flood at high tide. Mudflats are found in the Netherlands in the “Zeeland” and “South Holland” deltas and in the ‘Waddenzee’ in the north of the Netherlands. I am now in the Zeeland delta on the southeast side of the Oosterschelde. This mudflat is called the “Drowned Land of South Beverland. The North Sea is 30 km from here. So the delta is enormous.
A few meters to my left the salt marsh begins. That part does not flood during high tide which, unlike the muddy mudflats, allows salt-loving plants to grow.
On the left is the village of Oostpolder. In front of me the vast and reclaimed mud flats. Behind me and thus behind the huge sea dike lies the hamlet of Stationsbuurt and the village of Rilland and Rilland-bad.
Date/time: August 18, 2024, 09:39 AM. Low tide 07:59 AM 0.5 m +NAP, High tide 15:17 PM 2.7 m +NAP
Weather: 19-22c, clouds 100 – 90 % - , wind NW 2 km/h – W 24 km/h, 1011 hPa, humidity 79 – 55 %, visibility 37 – 30 km, dew point 15 - 13c. Clouds 4500 m high.
Location; National park Oosterschelde, Zeedijk, Verdronken land van Zuid Beverland, Tarweplaat, Hooge Kraaijer, Stationsbuurt en Rilland gem Reimerswaal, Zeeland, Netherlands (Holland), Europe. GPS 51.43263 4.15276
Gear chain: Sennheiser mkh30/50 MS with pointed NW 315 degree, in Rycote cyclone small, windjammer > Sound Devices 302 >Tascam dr-100 Mk2. Noise floor 28.5 dBA. Decoded Mid-side to STEREO.
Original MS-track 48/24 available for motivated pro's and artists.
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To hear, you first have to listen
Type
Wave (.wav)
Duration
5:52.000
File size
96.7 MB
Sample rate
48000.0 Hz
Bit depth
24 bit
Channels
Stereo
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