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I travel to Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Nebraska. I am there to record the sounds of ducks and I soon discover a waterfowl mecca where ducks streak by overhead, making spine-tingling hair-raising whooshes that are absolutely amazing to behold …
In my never-ending quest to celebrate the songs of our native thrushes in spacious binaural sound, I search for soundscapes that offer a pleasing balance between the songs of the thrush and the background ambience. This recording of the Veery’s twilight song … vespers if you will … I think captures that sentiment.
PLEASE HELP ME IDENTIFY THIS MYSTERY SOUND! I recorded this rather amazing vocalization made by an unknown animal (presumably a mammal) in the American Prairie Preserve in Montana. At dusk, I set my microphone near the edge of Second Creek, just south of the Buffalo Camp campground. This unusual sound event occurred not long after midnight.
Does anyone know what animal made these extraordinary sounds?
At dusk, we visit a lakeside swamp in Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky. The scene is exquisite, with a white-tailed deer silhouetted against the red sky. As darkness descends, we make our way to a swampy area next to a lake and are shocked by the number of whip-poor-wills in the area, their repeated songs mixing with the bright notes of spring peepers and the chirps of field crickets.
In early July, I camp at the bottom of Shinagin Hollow in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York, a short distance from a small mountain brook. Around midnight, I am awakened by a distant barred owl that screams and hoots from the other side of the hollow. Other owls join in. The concert lasts for over fifteen minutes, finally ending with a lone owl giving a slow-paced series of simple who-awl calls before disappearing into the night.
During an autumn trip to Lake Ontario in 2025, I was fortunate to encounter an evening of very calm wave action. Small swells rolled in, each lapping gently against round stones and producing an astounding variety of delicate, musical plinks, plops and splashes. It was as if the sea was having a good time making its water music and delighting at every turn. I sat quietly on a large rock nearby, fully immersed in the concert and quite taken by the relaxing yet engaging mix of sound.
ALERT! The mole salamander mating season has begun here in upstate New York. Last night there was a significant movement of both Jefferson and Spotted Salamanders.
With some difficulty, I make my way to the remote Raab Lake in the Turtle Mountains, along the border between North Dakota and Canada. The lake is nearly a mile long. All through the night, I hear the reverberant calls of red-necked grebes, but far in the distance, at the opposite end of the lake. As dawn approaches, the grebes finally come my way and put on a show I will never forget.
While visiting Round Spring State Park in the Missouri Ozarks, I discover a beaver den (or possibly just a food stash) hidden within a cavern that drains the spring. Fortunately, I was able to place my soundscape mic well within the cavern and record through the entire night. At around 11 pm, two beavers began sounding off, their moans and sweet whines enlivened by the incessant, resonant dripping of water from the ceiling.
In the middle of the night, along the Anhinga Trail boardwalk in the Everglades, I hear the gentle purring of crickets, a distant chorus of frogs, random splashes and pops, and chuck-will’s-widows chanting their night-songs. Then, quite suddenly, a surprise—I hear, and even feel, a sonorous, drawn-out growl, coming from nearby. It’s the unmistakable low-pitched mating bellow of a male alligator.
After restful sleep, I suddenly awakened at 4am with my inner voice demanding me in no uncertain terms to head out to Shindagin Hollow, my most treasured and favorite natural area here in the Finger Lakes Region of upstate New York. This was not a planned recording expedition …
In early July of 2016, I recorded Hermit Thrushes and White-throated Sparrows singing at first light at Spring Pond Bog, a Nature Conservancy Preserve located in the Adirondack Mountains. I was disappointed with the recording for reasons I will explain, and I almost threw it away. But upon further examination, I was shocked to discover that I had actually captured a soundscape worthy of considerable praise and admiration.
It is dawn in midsummer after a night of rain. Drip falls from the treetops, splatting against leaves and the ground. Wood Thrushes sound off in the distance and a lone cricket trills. Such an exalted mix, a magical elixir that helps calm one’s mind.
In early April, we travel to the remote Picacho State Recreation Area located along the Colorado River, about 25 miles north of Yuma Arizona. We camp next to Taylor Lake, which is edged with cattail marshes. At night, wild burros sound off, their whining brays echoing across the marshland. Finally, two coyotes erupt, their ecstatic howls and tremolos ushering in the dawn.
It is late summer in the Finger Lakes Region of upstate New York. As night unfolds, crickets trill, their songs mesmerizing and tranquil. Then, without warning, Coyotes howl and yip, their reverberant echos reaching out in all directions. Exhilarating, intoxicating wild music, flowing deeply into the recesses of our minds.
