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Lang Elliott
Binaural Soundscapes | Podcasts | Videos | Birds | Mammals | Amphibians | Reptiles | Insects | Ramblings | Miscellaneous
In late July, I accompany two researchers to Great Island, a protected seabird sanctuary in Newfoundland’s Witless Bay. The island is the home to over 250,000 nesting Atlantic Puffins and the primary goal of my visit is to record their unusual buzzy snores, which sound like miniature chainsaws.
During a late April visit to Aravaipa Canyon in southeastern Arizona, I camp next to a gently gurgling waterfall. At midnight, I awaken to the melodic hoots of a Mexican Spotted Owl and the sweet whistles of a fledgling, no doubt begging for food …
As autumn begins revealing its colors, there is still a pleasing insect chorus at night in the forested hills of upstate New York. In late September, after an evening thunderstorm passes through the area, I visit nearby Shindagin Hollow in search of meditative nightscapes. I soon come across a soothing mix that transports me into an altered state of deep communion with nature….
In late June, I visit Olympic National Park and camp near Ozette Lake in the Olympic Peninsula. At the break of dawn, I amble along a trail leading to the Pacific Ocean and encounter an exciting constellation of wild sounds typical of old growth forest in the Pacific Northwest …
It is early autumn in the Finger Lakes National Forest in upstate New York. In the wee hours of the morning, I awaken to whimpering notes, squeals, and occasional water splashes. These are the sweet, endearing calls of muskrats, given while swimming slowly along the marshy edge …
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.
