It’s night-time, and Ann is out with her torch listening really hard for frogs. But, there is another sound that is distracting her and It’s so loud that she will never be able to hear anything else. Ann spots the loud sound maker with her torch. It’s round, and brown with knobbly bits all over it, and two big bulging eyes on the top of it. Is it a frog? Oh no… it’s a cane toad, and they are a big problem for Australian wildlife.
Ann is walking along a muddy wetland, with some black and white birds standing out in the shallow water. Ann can hear insects, clicking crabs and some birds piping away when a skinny brown bird with a loooong beak flies down onto the mudflat. It’s an eastern curlew arriving from the other side of the world!
It’s the late afternoon and Ann is walking through a forest of eucalypts after having a picnic with her friends. Ann’s heading back to the carpark when suddenly there is a high-pitched ‘yip’ sound somewhere above! What was that… WOW a little animal flies from one tree to the next.. It’s a sugar glider!
Ann is in a park near the ocean, when she sees something… very odd. It’s like the Sydney opera house, but made out of twigs! What could it be? It’s got lots of blue bits and pieces around it, plus a bit of onion skin and some flowers - they’re all scattered around like washing on the bedroom floor. AH! It’s a bower – that means a bowerbird must be close by.
Ann is camping in the desert. The sun is just setting when she hears some howling! Is it a dog? A wolf? How did it get out here in the middle of the desert? It must be a dingo! “OWWWWWWWWWW”. Hmm, are dingoes dogs? And are they an Australian animal?
It’s early morning and Ann is walking along the Murray River, listening to the gentle sound of the water flowing past. Oh… it sounds like someone is laughing at that kangaroo? Or are they laughing at Ann? The laughing sound is coming from higher up in the river red gum, so it surely can’t be a person. What could be laughing, high up in that tree?
You noisy nature narrators have been so busy that we had to make another bonus episode full of your nature noises. This time we’ve got croaking, bonking, ribbetting, mooaaaning and more – it’s your fantastic frog sounds! Keep sending us your awesome audio at ABC Kids listen, and we've got some great news too, a brand new season of Noisy by Nature will be out very soon.
We called and you answered! So many of you noisy nature narrators have been sending in recordings from all across the country, so here is our first bonus episode of your nature noises. From rainbow lorikeets to kookaburras, black kites to cockatoos, it's beautiful, babbling birds!
This special season is all about our nosiest neighbours! The creatures and critters that have made a home in our cities, towns and suburbs. One bird in particular has been making a lot of noise, and a bit of a mess rummaging through some rubbish bins looking for food. It’s an Ibis, and now we know why it has the nickname, bin chicken.
It’s a hot and steamy day, and after going to the pool Ann’s busting to get home to go to the loo. But when she arrives there’s something in the toilet! It’s green, with big yellow eyes… It’s a green tree frog. But it definitely doesn’t go galumph. Or ladedadeda!
After kicking the footy in the park, Ann hears a strange noise and spies something running along a tree branch. It’s fluffy, has a long brown tail and just jumped onto her friends’ roof! Do you know what it could be?
Up in The Top End, Ann’s settling in for a relaxing evening when suddenly she hears not one, not two but lots of squeaking INSIDE her room. Is it a cricket? Maybe a mouse? Or something else that is camouflaged against the wall?
Finishing off our special suburban sounds season, we’re outside for a spot of gardening. Ann’s doing some pruning and listening to all the birds in the trees, when all of a sudden a group of small grey birds start screeching. They are so noisy by nature, that noisy is even in their name!
Frogs, ravens, cicadas... lend us your ears! While you wait for new episodes of Noisy by Nature, Ann needs your help to find out about the amazing nature noises in your very own backyard. Take a listen to find out more, and email your audio to abckidslisten@abc.net.au!
Ann is squelching her way through a swamp looking for frogs. There's some tooting coots, splashing wood ducks, and some very squelchy mud. But wait… there’s some short low moaning sounds coming from the reeds. Yes, Ann’s found a moaning frog – it’s singing for a mate!
Ann is walking through some special woodlands, with the moon high in the sky. She is using her ears to try and hear a special mammal that lives here. Can you hear the song of a currawong that should be in bed? Oh... what’s that growly sound? Could it be... yes! It’s an eastern quoll, and it’s not alone.
Ann is heading to the beach to fly her kite, but walking through the scrub she sees a flash of bright red. What could it be? Then, a beautiful chiming bird song calls from one of the trees. Ann knows just what it is! A crimson rosella, one of Ann’s favourite birds.
It’s a perfect sunny day for Ann to watch her friends play cricket at the oval, and there are so many interesting nature noises to listen to. There are some magpies warbling in the gum trees, and dogs and bikes going past on the path - Ann is even listening to the barbeque sizzling. But wait… There’s a new sound coming from the ground. Oh WOW, there are crickets whirring at the cricket!
On Ann’s friends farm, it's really dry from the drought. But if you use your ears you can still hear some of their sheep out in the paddocks, and maybe a kookaburra laughing as the sun goes down. As the birds go to sleep, Ann is getting ready to listen out for a secretive creature. It’s tiny, and furry, and flies! Oh, do you hear that “peep peep” sound. That’s it, that’s a microbat!
It is so noisy in the tropical rainforest! Under the tall trees there are buzzing insects, chirping birds, and croaking frogs. There’s so much for Ann to listen to while she walks to a waterfall. Oh... There’s a strange “wakka-woo” sound coming from somewhere in the rainforest. Is it a person making a silly sound? No! It's a Wompoo Fruit Dove.
The daylight is starting to fade, and Ann is nearly finished her hike in Tasmania. She's listening to tweeting rosellas and calling black currawongs when suddenly something runs across the hiking track making a wheezing, barking sound. It’s a Tasmanian devil! What on earth are they growling about?
In the middle of the outback, Ann is using her ears to hear what animals live in the desert. Let’s listen to the whistling in the sky and the chirping in the the bushes. What is that unusual sound coming closer and closer? A huge bird is making that noise – the tallest bird in Australia! It’s an Emu, but it’s not making that noise with its mouth!
We’re on a camping trip in a forest of tall trees. The boobook owl is hooting so it’s time to get snuggled up in our sleeping bags for the night. What was that? It sounded like a laugh and a sneeze and a gurgle all rolled into one. Ann is going to investigate with her torch. There’s the creature making this funny sound, it just jumped from one tree to another. It’s a yellow-bellied glider!
It’s summer time in the city and Ann is at home, about to take the rubbish outside. Nature is right on her doorstep! Let’s listen to the cicadas humming, and the noisy birds screeching. What’s that pretty birdsong coming from the gum tree? A black and white bird is hopping along a branch, looking right at Ann. It’s a magpie!
Great news nature fans, Ann is back with some brand new episodes of Noisy by Nature from April 21st!
We’re on a teeny tiny island halfway between Australia and Antarctica. There are penguins everywhere and some big brown lumps on the sand making some weird noises. They’re elephant seals! And are they, are they farting?
The evening is falling in a forest on the edge of the city. The forest birds have gone to sleep but the insects are buzzing noisily. Let’s take a walk by the light of the moon and listen to the leaves rustling underfoot. What was that? A baby boobook owl is calling out to its parents for breakfast!
It’s hot summer’s day, and Ann’s on a mission to find an icy pole after going for a swim at the beach. But, what is that racket? There’s a kind of buzzing, humming noise all around us and it’s LOUD. It’s coming from cicadas, one of the 250 different kinds we have in Australia.
We’re in Victoria on a farm with big trees, listening for a special bird. No, that baaaing noise is sheep. And that’s a magpie warbling, which is beautiful bird sound but not the one we’re after. Oh, hear that screeching? That’s the bird we’re after. A black cockatoo!
What goes grunt in the night? Grunt, grunt, grunt. This nature noise is made by a very famous marsupial. You know that cute, fluffy Australian animal that loves to sit in a tree all day long and eat leaves… that’s right, the koala!
