Wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson introduces the first of five audio postcards, of spectacular natural events – beginning in the Kalahari Desert.

Recorded over hours, days, weeks or even months but compressed here into fifteen minutes.

Between November and February summer temperatures reach over 40 degrees centigrade. To avoid the dry, desiccating heat much of the wildlife has developed
nocturnal habits.

Chris wanted to capture the sounds of this extreme and ancient environment at a time when he could see very little, but could hear everything. This meant recording the sounds of the Kalahari Desert from dusk until dawn.

First we hear the sounds of the sand, as grains are driven up the sand dunes and over the summit by the scouring winds. As the afternoon passes, sidewinder snakes slither across the desert surface. Flash rainfalls create pools of water in the dry riverbed hollows which are exploited by flocks of Namaqua sandgrouse.

As the light fades there's a brief evening chorus of birdsong. After sunset, the dunes, grasses and thorn bushes are patrolled by an emerging alien empire; the insects, producing an astonishing wall of sound.

Baked hard by the sun, the red sand and soil of the Kalahari acts as a sounding board at night for the far carrying and chilling calls of brown hyenas, and before sunrise Chris records the powerful territorial calls of a desert lion which he can hear but cannot see.

Sunrise is rapid, accompanied by the displays of clapper larks, calling and beating their wings together. After sunrise, the temperature soars once again and the animals retreat leaving the voice of the prevailing winds as they scour across the Kalahari desert.

Producer: Sarah Blunt

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2015. Show less