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It is dawn in a vast prairie wetland in central North Dakota. I sit quietly in my canoe, alongside a dense stand of cattails and rushes. The marsh is alive with bird sounds, but I am here specifically to record the resonant, gulping onk-ka-chonk (or pumper-lunk) of an American Bittern, hidden in thick vegetation less than a hundred feet away.
While exploring the Comanche National Grassland in southeastern Colorado, I visit Picture Canyon and discover a large communal roost of Rock Pigeons, nesting on ledges and in nooks and crannies along an extended sheer cliff rising about fifty feet above me.
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 …
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 …
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.
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.
In late May of 1991, I came upon a gray catbird singing at night under a full moon, with bullfrogs and green frogs sounding off in the background. I documented the event with my parabolic microphone, which, unfortunately, was a single-mic setup that produced a recording devoid of any sense of space. Join me as I attempt to breath new life into that recording by transforming it into a spacious binaural listening experience.
Enjoy this 4K video featuring a Northern Mockingbird singing from its perch in an apple tree. If you know your bird sounds, you should hear phrases that remind you of the songs of northern cardinal, tufted titmouse, blue jay, gray catbird, white-breasted nuthatch, wood thrush, eastern towhee, northern flicker, hairy woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker … and maybe more!
During my recent visit to Aravaipa Canyon in early May, I captured a pristine soundscape featuring a flock of Wild Turkeys, calling excitedly at dawn from their roost in a towering cottonwood tree. You’ll love it … a potpourri of yelps, gobbles, purts, and mysterious low frequency hums that are only audible from a short distance … “turkey talk” at its very best!
At first light, I hike into Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park. Gusty wind blows through a dense thicket of stiff reeds, producing a plethora of snaps, crackles and pops. Frolicking ravens croak repeatedly as they fly up and down the Rio Grande River, their calls echoing off the steep cliffs above. Such a pleasing, enveloping mix of the sounds of the wind, ravens and reeds!
