Evening at a Moroccan Marsh

This entry won the Habitat section in the 2015 WSRS Recording Competition. It was also awarded the Silver Fox Trophy for best recording.

These 2-minutes were selected from a 2-hour recording, made with a pair of MKH406’s arranged ORTF in a homemade wind cage placed on a tripod in the reed bed. The recorder used was a Fostex FR-2LE.

The marsh was at Barrage Imi-N-Laârba, near the town of Aït Ouri, 50km from Marrakesh. As well as Cicadas, the main species heard are the deeper-voiced Berber Toads (Amietophrynus mauritanicus), Sahara Frog (Pelophyllax saharicus) and the rasping sounds of Mediterranean Tree Frogs (Hyla meridionalis).