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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!
I cannot tell a lie … I am the Aravaipa Dreamer. Day in, day out, I dream of being in Aravaipa Canyon, one of my favorite places on Planet Earth. And now it appears my dreams will come true. In early March, I will be embarking on a three-month nature recording expedition to the Southwest …
Early last autumn, I recorded the sounds of a beaver colony that had taken up residence in a nearby wetland. My venture was a success. Not only did I capture the scraping, chewing and moaning sounds of the beaver, I also documented periodic visits by barred owls, their resonant hoots echoing across the landscape.
Although I’m happy with my recordings, a drama was unfolding that concerned me … a drought had nearly dried up the wetland, forcing the colony to move upstream to the last remaining section with water. In what appeared to be a frantic bid to avoid catastrophe, the beaver quickly built a new dam, constructed a new den, and then began deepening the channel by shoving large amounts of mud on to the banks … clearly a “last-ditch effort” to preserve their aquatic environment.
Join Lang on an autumn nature recording expedition to Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky, where you will enjoy the howls and yips of coyotes, the hoots of and screams of barred owls, and much more.
I’m pleased to announce that I’ve just published Yasuni Soundscapes, a fully-binaural, 30-minute narrated podcast featuring 23 recordings I made in early November in Ecuador’s lowland Amazon rainforest.
I’m fresh back from the Ecuador rainforest and excited to share soundscapes I recorded at the wonderful Sani Lodge, located along the Napo River about 50 miles downriver from Coca, Ecuador.
