Xitou, March 2026
Xitou Nature Education Area, Nantou County, 30th March 2026
溪頭自然教育園區, 南投縣, 2026年3月30日
I've lost count of how many times I've visited Xitou. The memories have begun to blur together, with moments from different years overlapping until it's hard to remember exactly when anything happened.
Last summer, I happened to capture some recordings here that I was really pleased with, so this spring I returned with the specific goal of documenting the forest soundscape.
Because the recreation area has fixed opening hours, there is very little human activity in the park at night apart from the accommodation area. I made recordings over two dawns, but unfortunately the park staff began their morning routines shortly after 5:00 a.m., riding scooters and driving service vehicles before the gates opened. As a result, the natural soundscape was repeatedly interrupted by the sound of engines.
This particular recording was made between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. One thing I noticed is that Xitou is not as quiet as Taipingshan. Like many other mid- and lower-elevation forests I've visited, there is almost always a distant low rumble in the background. Perhaps it comes from human activity somewhere far beyond the forest, but I can't say for certain.
📍 Location: 23.674380, 120.797943 Nantou County, Taiwan
🌤 Weather: 18°C, Cloudy, 90% Humidity
🌿 Ambient Sound: Birds
🎤 Setup: Sonorous SO.1 (AB), Zoom F3
溪頭, 2026年3月
溪頭去過的次數多到數不清了，有時候不同年代的記憶混雜在一起，分不清究竟是哪一年發生的事。
去年夏季偶然在溪頭錄到不錯的聲音，所以今年特別選在春季想要錄下這裡的森林環境音。
因為園區有開放時間，夜間除了住宿區附近以外，幾乎不會有人在園區內製造噪音。這次我錄了2個清晨的聲音，但可惜的是園區開門前，工作人員大概在5點出頭就已經騎著機車和開車開始工作了，結果是整段自然錄音一直被引擎的聲音中斷。
這段錄音的時間是晚上7點到8點之間，我發現溪頭本身並不像太平山那樣寧靜，和之前去過的其他中低海拔森林類似，背景總是聽得到轟隆隆的聲音，或許是錄到了遠處的噪音。