Lazy morning in Central Kenya - Sounds of the African savanna

When I think of the vast savannas of Central Kenya, there's a certain image and associated soundscape that comes to mind. On my 2021 expedition to East Africa I spent some time exploring and recording in Laikipia county. I was arriving immediately after torrential rains and that image I had in my mind went out the window quickly. I found lush green hills and incredibly busy soundscapes in a place I was expecting to be dusty, yellow and quiet. It was more reminiscent of a humid tropical forest than of Kenyan savannas.
The recording starts just before dawn. A lone nightjar is winding down for the night while some frogs croak and peep from a muddy pool nearby. Distant birds start to call while the insect chorus fades in and out. Occasionally you may hear very distant roosters or cattle from a Samburu village nearby. Soft wind moving through the vegetation underpins everything. It doesn't take long for the soundscape to develop into a beautiful cacophony of birdsong and wildlife calls at various distances all around.
This is one of the aspects that fascinates me the most. The layers of biophony that you can hear are clearly differentiated as they come from different directions, distances and angles. The further the sound source, the less high frequency content the sound carries. As it bounces around the local topography, complex interactions colour the sound even more. Very complicated from a physics standpoint, but easy to interpret on a subconscious level for the human auditory cortex.
Sit back and immerse yourself into this remote and lush savanna as night turns to day and wildlife goes about its daily activities. Recorded in Laikipia county, Kenya with Sony PCM A10 and Lom mikroUsi. Enjoying the videos I upload on here? Feel free to support me by:
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#africa #kenya #naturesounds

[@GeorgeVlad]

Listen to more recordings from the African savanna: th-cam.com/video/5NyIPnT1Wpw/w-d-xo.html

[@Blue_Lugia]

These soundscapes takes me to another part of the world and help me forget the harsh reality I'm living in for a little while.
I think we all need to be escapists sometimes.

[@GeorgeVlad]

Couldn't agree more.

[@juice2090]

I don’t know what to say anymore George. All your savanna recordings have a special place in my heart. Keep making these please.

[@GeorgeVlad]

Thanks Juice, I still have hundreds if not thousands of hours of savanna soundscapes and will keep creating videos.

[@Walther1954]

@@GeorgeVlad Work haar-da, work-haar-da, George ;-)

[@GeorgeVlad]

Haha, as the dove says!

[@ashstrakoop1433]

I am so glad I caught the premier for the soundscape! I use natural soundscapes 24 hours a day in my daily life and I have recently moved from Kenya to Canada. The shift in sound has been very significant for me, thus finding this recording feels like a blessing. Thank you for making it!

[@GeorgeVlad]

My pleasure, glad to hear that. I have many more recordings from Kenya and East Africa on the channel.

[@abcdefg876]

We moved to Canada from South Africa a few years ago and also use these sound tracks from Africa to cope better with the change. Canada’s insulated windows and cold climate aren’t conducive to hearing birdsong inside😅. All the best with adjusting.

[@paragmahajani5450]

Awesome

[@ZolaTaTa]

Beautiful sounds! Thank you

[@GeorgeVlad]

Thanks for listening

[@user-ks9my9gx6r]

👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@sebastianhalle6575]

I just love your work, man!!!

[@GeorgeVlad]

Glad to hear it, thanks Sebastian.

[@TheHudsonValleyWanderer]

Man this is so awesome! I didn't realize how many sounds can be picked up with smaller recorders. I mainly do video and have been wanting to get better in field sounds from water falls because even a mic plugged into my cameras preamp sounds pretty bad for flowing water. Thanks for the inspiration.

[@GeorgeVlad]

Flowing water should be fairly easy to record, but you need a separate recorder and mics to do it well.

[@TheHudsonValleyWanderer]

@@GeorgeVlad any recommendations for a small handheld recorder under $200 usd to record nature sounds? Need something small to keep in my camera bag amongst my sleep of lenses and drone gear. Any information appreciated

[@GeorgeVlad]

$200 is not going to be enough unfortunately. As mentioned in my other reply to you, Sony PCM A10 and a pair of PiP mics like the Clippy EM272 is the cheapest setup I would recommend.

[@bigtatos]

Wow, this is beautiful! I've never given though to the soundscape of this environment before, but it's wonderful to know what it's like.

[@GeorgeVlad]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@cobus767]

Your videos, especially of the African bushveld sounds, are soothing and comforting. I listen to it when I go to bed and it you have no idea how relaxed I fall asleep. I just visited the bush ( Northern Kruger - South Africa) and I am transported there via your videos. Thanks

[@GeorgeVlad]

Glad to hear that, the soundscape of the bushveld is unmatched!

[@gsjandu591]

Very relaxing nature sounds thanks 💘🙏

[@GeorgeVlad]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Walther1954]

Beautiful!

[@GeorgeVlad]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@pinkdragon4830]

Amazing as always!Do you plan on doing some rainforest recordings soon?

[@GeorgeVlad]

I plan a rainforest expedition in August but until then I will find something in my back catalogue for this week's video.

[@TheHudsonValleyWanderer]

Can you get similar results from a Zoom H1n Handy Recorder? or something somewhat in the same price range.

[@GeorgeVlad]

You can get decent results with a Sony PCM A10 and a pair of PiP mics like the Clippy EM272.

[@miroslavapavlikovamala8363]

Would be posibble to load hear longer sound for sleeping?

[@GeorgeVlad]

Check out my other videos, some are several hours long.