Fushoushan Farm, January 2025
Gengmengshan Trail at Fushoushan Farm, Heping District, Taichung City, 5th January 2025
福壽山農場更猛山步道, 台中市和平區, 2025年1月5日
Based on my experience recording in Taiwan's forests, there are very few animal sounds to be heard during winter. The forest often seems to contain little more than its own ambient background noise, the sound of wind moving through the vegetation, and the delicate sound of rain falling on the leaves and plants.
At the same time, there are generally fewer visitors in the forests during winter. Apart from a few popular destinations and the crowds that come in search of snow, this season actually makes it easier to immerse yourself in the stillness of the forest.
In January 2025, temperatures at Fushoushan Farm were mostly in the single digits Celsius. On top of that, it rained for much of those days, and the cold, damp weather naturally discouraged people from going outdoors. The camping boom that began about a decade ago, however, doesn't seem to have faded. There were still quite a few campers staying at the campground.
The Gengmengshan Trail is a forest trail within Fushoushan Farm, away from the main roads and recreational areas. Once the campers had gone to bed, almost all that remained in the forest was the sound of air moving through the trees.
This recording was made at around 11 p.m. A light drizzle had begun to fall, with raindrops landing softly and sporadically throughout the forest, blending naturally with the surrounding silence.
📍 Location: 24.221627, 121.236250 Heping District, Taichung City, Taiwan
🌤 Weather: 6°C, Cloudy, 85% Humidity
🌿 Ambient Sound: Rain, Wind, Formosan Muntjac
🎤 Setup: Clippy EM272 (Baffled AB), Sony PCM-A10
福壽山農場, 2025年1月
以我在台灣森林錄音的經驗來說，冬季幾乎聽不到動物的聲音。森林裡往往只剩下環境本身的背景聲、風吹過植物的聲音，以及雨水落在植被上的細碎聲響。
然而，冬季來到森林的遊客也相對較少。除了少數熱門景點，以及追雪的人潮之外，這個季節反而更容易讓人沉浸在森林的靜謐之中。
2025 年 1 月，福壽山農場的氣溫大多只有個位數，再加上那幾天大部分時間都在下雨，濕冷的天氣自然降低了人們出遊的意願。不過，近十年來興起的露營風潮似乎仍未退燒，露營區裡依然有不少露營的人。
更猛山步道是福壽山農場內一條遠離主要道路與遊憩區的森林步道。當露營的遊客陸續就寢後，森林裡幾乎只剩下空氣流動的聲音。
這段錄音是在晚上 11 點左右錄製的。當時天空下起了細雨，雨滴稀稀落落地落在森林裡，與周遭的寧靜形成一種非常自然的和諧。