The Listener Podcast

[PREVIEW] Slimbridge

Some places live in your imagination long before you ever set foot there. For me, one of those places was Slimbridge. As a young boy, I sat glued to the television watching Sir Peter Scott and dreaming of the vast flocks of geese and swans that gathered on the wetlands beside the River Severn. Even through the TV speaker, I could sense there was something magical about the sounds of that place. At the age of 21, I finally made the journey. It exceeded every expectation I had carried since childhood and became one of the defining moments of my life as a wildlife sound recordist. I've just written the full story, reflecting on that first visit, the incredible legacy of Sir Peter Scott, and how Slimbridge has changed over the last four decades while still remaining one of Britain's most extraordinary places for wildlife. If you'd like to listen along with many more stories from behind the microphone and six decades of recording the natural world, it's now available on my Patreon. I hope you'll join me there as I continue sharing the memories, recordings and experiences that have shaped my life. Thank you, as always, for your support. It means more than you know.

[PREVIEW] Frogs of Australia: Voices from the Rainforest

Some of the most beautiful sounds I have recorded in Australia have come from frogs. At night, after heavy rain, the forest changes completely. The darkness fills with calls from hidden lives: the Green-lipped Frog calling from the rainforest canopy, Fletcher’s Frog buried in the wet leaf litter, the Sphagnum Frog hidden deep in mossy mountain bogs, and Lesueur’s Frog calling beside clear rocky streams. These are not just frog calls. They are signals of rain, clean water, healthy forests and fragile habitats still holding on. Every recording becomes a small time capsule. A voice from a place, a season, a moment that may never sound quite the same again. This is why I record. To preserve the living voice of the planet before silence takes its place. www.thelisteningplanet.com [https://www.thelisteningplanet.com]

Buffalo springs

Some recordings stay with you for a lifetime. I traveled from the Kenyan coast at Mombasa to Buffalo Springs, a remarkable reserve in the shadow of Mount Kenya. Before sunrise, sitting quietly outside a rooftop tent, I listened as the landscape slowly came to life. A mysterious dove called constantly across the reserve, White-browed Sparrow joined the chorus, and hidden beneath it all were the voices of frogs adding their own layer to the dawn soundscape. For me, these moments are about far more than recording wildlife. They are about listening to the heartbeat of a place and preserving a moment in time that may never sound quite the same again. I've just shared the full story and recording from that unforgettable morning on Patreon. I hope it transports you to Kenya and allows you to experience the magic of Buffalo Springs through sound. Thank you for supporting my work and helping preserve these voices of the wild. #TheListener #Kenya #BuffaloSprings #NatureSounds #Soundscape #FieldRecording #WildlifeSound #ListeningPlanet #Conservation #Patreon

Tawny frogmouth

Most people think it's an owl. It isn't. The first time I heard a Tawny Frogmouth was deep in Australia's Daintree Rainforest. Its haunting call rolled through the darkness like a distant engine, and when I finally found it, I was staring at what looked like a broken branch. Then it blinked. For this week's Patreon story, I share the remarkable tale of one of Australia's most extraordinary birds, a master of camouflage that can disappear in plain sight and has evolved one of the most unique hunting strategies in the natural world. Join me on Patreon to read the full story and discover why the Tawny Frogmouth remains one of the most unforgettable sounds I've encountered in a lifetime of listening. Nature always has another secret waiting to be heard. www.thelisteningplanet.com [https://www.thelisteningplanet.com] #TheListeningPlanet #MartynStewart #NatureSounds #TawnyFrogmouth #Australia #DaintreeRainforest #Wildlife #NatureStory #Patreon #ListeningToNature

When tranquility is broken