Cities And Memory

On São Miguel Island in the Azores, there is a decommissioned satellite communication Earth station featuring a 32-metre parabolic antenna. It was once integral to satellite communications, given its strategic mid-Atlantic location. Though it is not explicitly documented, we can assume it became redundant from the mid-1980s onward due to advancements in satellite communication technologies and the expansion of digital ground optical fibre networks. I chanced upon the station when I was travelling around São Miguel in March 2024. Though visibly pronounced, I had not come across anything about it in my research before visiting the island. I was struck by many things as I walked around its grounds and climbed up the structure. Foremost, how this technologically derelict site had become home to a plethora of birdlife and other creatures. This recording is taken in one of the chambers just below the main parabolic dish, where I found many birds nesting. The microphones are inside the chamber, and in this recordi