dawn chorus with whistlers in the carrizo plain

"Bisecting California nearly in two, the San Andreas Fault scores a rugged line from the Salton Sea
northward to Cape Mendocino, threatening residents with destruction and fury at any time, but also
rewarding them with fascinating geological sights. One of the best spots to view the amazing work
of this vast fault line is in central Californias Carrizo Plain, where tree-barren, oat-grass covered
hills reveal its slow, determined work in the form of offset streams and wierd folds in the hills (clearly visible in satellite photos taken overhead). It is also a fairly nice place to travel to in the winter,
shielded from cold, damp fogs shrouding the great central Valley as well as from coastal rain showers. Driving along a smooth dirt road alongside the fault-line hills this New Years Day, we chose a
spot to camp with wonderful views of the surrounding terrain and also as far as we could get from
a couple sets of large power-line pylons marching away in the distance. A magnetic storm was in
progress, though it was winding down from the day before. Camped next to electric lines, we were
unable to listen the previous night and now welcomed the electrically quiet location we had found,
as well as the amiable weather. At 5a.m. the next morning, this recording segment was made. Weak
chirping sounds of Dawn Chorus can be heard (had I been farther north in latitude, the Chorus
would have been much louder) and also a good deal of pure whistlers are forthcoming. The weak
hum sounds of high-voltage power lines about 4 miles distant can be heard."

Techie notes: (Numerous pure whistlers and background Dawn Chorus chirping sounds. Weak
background power-line (60 Hz & harmonics) hum. Taped in the Carrizo Plain, central Calif. 02 Jan.
1994 1300 UT)