Wind in the hemlocks with various songbirds and loud canada geese near beginning and at end. 5:30am, 8 May 2016, Texas Hollow State Forest near Burdett, New York. © Lang Elliott. This is a 3D binaural recording: please wear headphones for a realistic spatial effect.
Aerial view of pothole pond
The highlight of Texas Hollow is a natural pothole pond, two-thirds of which is a sphagnum-filled bogland. I placed my soundscape microphone among tall hemlocks at the pond’s edge and then walked a few hundred yards away to relax on a soft bed of hemlock needles (no, I didn’t go to sleep!). Here’s what I had to say (pardon my croaky voice, which I think is beginning to improve):
After about a hour, I retrieved my recording setup and eventually made my way back to my studio. I was pleased with what I heard. Not only did I capture the wind in the hemlocks, but also the soundings of spring peepers, a small selection of songbirds (see list below), and the loud honking of Canada Geese. My morning was not wasted! If listened-to correctly (with headphones or earbuds), you should have a reasonably high-quality immersive nature sound experience.
I’m curious what everyone will think of this recording. In the old days, I wouldn’t have bothered to record on such a breezy morning, but I rather like the result. Here in my studio, I’ve been playing it for about a half hour and haven’t gotten bored yet.
Songbird List:
Swamp Sparrow (trills, throughout; good example at 2:55)
Common Yellowthroat (songs, throughout; good example at 4:00)
Song Sparrow (near beginning; good example at 4:13)
Red-winged Blackbird (songs throughout – good example at 5:02 – plus high whistles and metallic notes)
Note: Always remember that I have high frequency hearing loss, so be sure to let me know if I’ve made any mistakes or if you hear the sounds of other species.
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Love listening to this. Very relaxing.
This is so relaxing! I close my eyes and lose myself. Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome Nina!
Plenty good indeed Lang. The wind sound actually blend quite well with the birds songs. My favorite is the wild geese. For some reason, I feel a kind of connection with them. Their calls invokes a wordless sound of jubilation to my soul. What is about their song, and why do most of us tend to listen until they fade into the distance?
Nurtured by nature, how marvelous. Thank you Lang
The sounds of wild geese ring a primal chord within. The echos of the calls are remarkable. High-pitchy bird songs are pale in comparison.
Almost surround-like when I close my eyes and listen.
P.S. if you remind me how I go about adding my photo so you can see who’s missing the geese, I’d be delighted to try. Thanks
mary ann==over to the right and up a bit there is an empty photo icon like we see when you don’t have your pic entered. next to it in blue it says “click here to find out how”.
Thanks billie for pointing MaryAnn to that section in the sidebar!
Thank you for sharing this, even though it makes me a bit homesick for the Finger Lakes. I so miss the sound of the geese!
Isn’t “Mother Nature” wonderful! Thank you Lang for opening up my ears this morning w/ the joyful sound of all the birds that I adore 🙂
You’re welcome Rose!
nice! I was just thinking that you might record the wind in the aspens, as ours have leafed out and I was just noticing the welcome sound this past weekend…. of course pines are nice, too, which is much like this recording….
lwc: I’m looking forward to recording wind in the aspens. I’ve been meaning to do that for quite some time.
Wow, love it. I wait each year for the first Canada Geese to fly over–spring is just around the corner! And then, in the fall…summer’s over. The ones that stay all year long tend to confuse matters, still love to hear them. I think I heard a peacock in the midst? It’s Peacock mating season here, if you’d like to hear six weeks of loud, raucous screams and honks, at any given moment. Love the wind. I’m going to try earbuds, later. Thanks. May God speed your full recovery.
Gena: I don’t think there are any peacocks in the recording. It was a forested natural area with no nearby houses or farms.
Just kidding. I understand. LOL
sorry … didn’t realize you were joking!
This was a fantastic experience. When the wind began to really blow about eight minutes into the recording, it sounded so realistic that I got a tactile sensation of being in the wind with the hemlock fronds caressing my shoulders. Your voice is lovely, soothing. I re-read your professional bio, you have remarkable vision and drive. But who is the person behind all this?
Who is the person behind all this? That is a very good question! : >)
very nice, i am a huge fan of peepers, can’t get enough of them. that with the lovely wind and special little songbird cameos are very soothing. i love the sound of the geese but admit i had to turn the volume down just a bit on that first big burst. if this one were going to go on the tranquil mix, their biggest bursts might have to be toned down a bit 🙂
another gem.
Really enjoyed the recording , got a kick out of your comment about the geese, they have dominated many other wise good recordings of mine. Enjoy your straight forward comments about getting out of bed. We never know what awaits us in life without wading right in.
Dick … yes, those danged geese are in about every pond and marsh around here. I try to be very careful not to disturb them. From my perspective, they should only be heard during migration. That was their natural state, which is my preference for sure. That said, they sure are amazing when a pair flies over duetting.
And yet, the peepers are continuous, even though one might consider them an interruption of the gentle wind and the bird songs. But to me, the geese fit right in to the realistic collage. As do the peepers. Lang, each of your recordings brings a different flavor of well-being, and this one is no exception! Each of the voices feels like a different part of the universe singing in a chorus that is unique day-to-day and location-to-location. There seems to be no end to the variety of beautiful harmonies! (I will confess that I’m very grateful for the absence of… Read more »
Glad you like it Marilyn. I’m really enjoying this work, with a newfound emphasis on soundscapes (my video gear just sits there doing nothing (which might be for the best considering how much it costs to stay on top of that technology). My voice varies from day to day, even hour to hour. It was not too bad Sunday morn, even better yesterday, then noticeably worse today .. a long and slow journey toward healing, but I think it is ramping upward. I dearly want my voice back in its entirety so that I can embark on my podcasting project… Read more »
Wow! Wow! Wow! This is my favorite recording of yours. Thanks for the tip to use earbuds. Magical! After watching the movie, Soylent Green, long ago, I would always say that on my deathbed I wanted to go out listening to the wind in the pine trees. This is EXACTLY what I had envisioned. It is so peaceful with the occasional passing goose to wake me up! (They might have to be edited out for my Soylent Green dream!) Thank you for all your fantastic work. My one cat loves to listen and and watch the videos too! The Wood… Read more »
Oh my, people seem to be really liking this. I find that to be good news because it widens my net, so to speak. I can even record in really high winds. I have a special “wind box” to reduce or even eliminate the effects of wind gusts on the microphones themselves (wind causes a low frequency thumping, with distortion).
Can you describe the “wind box” just curious. Just made a suspension cradle for my Zoom h4n to reduce handling noise. Will post a picture to Facebook showing what it looks like. Have you ever thought about teaching a course on your techniques and philosophy. Or a journal describing your adventures?
Love it – the sound of the wind in trees is one of my favorite sounds. Reminds me of John Muir’s writing about clinging to, I think, a Douglas fir during a storm, although, I dare say, much more relaxing.
Yes, I’ve read that passage. He was up there in a big storm. Maybe not the smartest thing, but what an experience he had to write about!
The strength of the winds is divergent from what I’ve heard in your works and I appreciate the hemlocks’ clean fragrance (how did you do that?!) and soft but intensive hush-voice behind the birds and peeps. After a minute I snugged my hoodie a bit closer and so I know that this will revivify me on sweltering August days. I felt goose bumps as I heard the wind transit from L to R through phones. What a yummy secret place you have shared with us. Whoooooshhhh!
Very yummy place. I always feel exhilarated when I look out over the pond. There are two large beaver huts. The blog mat has pitcher plant and sundew. It’s a lovely location. I have mixed feelings about the geese. Personally, I wish they would all migrate north as they used to, before we-the-people created non-migratory populations through our breeding programs. Their sounds are beautiful, for sure, but can also be viewed as “noise pollution” because they are so dominant. There’s nothing worse (for Lang the recordist) than trying to record a mellow dawn chorus at a marsh or pond when… Read more »
I really enjoy what I’ve heard so far. Thank you for sharing and especially for identifying the various birds. Can you accept PayPal?
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