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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 …
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.
Last week, I went on a brief camping trip to the Adirondack Mountains with my friend Beth Bannister. Late summer is a quiet time in the Northwoods, so our expectations were low. Although we had bad luck at first, something wonderful happened during the last night of our journey. At Helldiver Pond, deep in the Moose River Plains, we got lucky and captured a wonderful Coyote performance that ranks among the most compelling in my collection.
While I’ve recorded in wild areas across North America for over 30 year, there is one species I’ve had trouble documenting … the Gray Wolf. Until last week, I had only managed to capture one recording of this timid and elusive mammal… the distant howls of a lone individual sounding off in the middle of the night in the White Mountains of Arizona …
While sifting through recordings yesterday, I came across my all-time favorite coyote outburst, captured shortly before dawn in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, back in 2011. I was with fellow recordist Ted Mack. We set up camp at the Cade’s Cove campground, but didn’t retire after dark like all the other campers. Instead, we rushed off to hike the 10-mile loop road (which is closed at night for cars), stopping here and there in hopes of recording something interesting. We were not disappointed …
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.
Listen now to an impromptu podcast where I share recordings of 26 species made in my own backyard on the morning of April 22, 2018. You’ll be delighted … such a wonderful celebration of the sounds of nature!
Ever heard a Porcupine squeal in the dark of the night? Well, I heard and recorded a squealing porcupine long ago in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, and that’s why I was able to identify the source of the mysterious sounds I captured just a few weeks ago in my beloved Shindagin Hollow …
I’m fresh back from a workshop retreat with David Abram in the Catskill Mountains and I managed to get some interesting nighttime soundscapes at a nearby beaver pond complex. Featured are the howls and yips of Coyotes (Coy-Wolves?), the screams of a Barred Owl, and the chips of a Flying Squirrel …
Did you know that chipmunks respond to hawk fly-bys with a special “aerial predator alarm call” … a hollow, resonant cluck … cluck … cluck … cluck … cluck … that is unmistakable? Well, perhaps you’ve heard it but didn’t know who was making it or why … it sounds like this …
In early April of 2017 I made a brief, evening-to-dawn visit to Pena Blanca Lake (elevation 4000 feet) in the scenic Pajarito Mountain foothills to the northwest of Nogales, Arizona. A popular destination for nature lovers, the lake and its surroundings yielded some very exciting recordings.
I am thrilled to finish my latest podcast prototype, “August Prairiesong,” a true-to-life recounting of my early August visit to Taberville Prairie Conservation Area and Prairie State Park, both being tallgrass prairie preserves located in southwestern Missouri. Please join me on my adventure …
As autumn turns to winter, I find myself spending less time outdoors and way more time in front of my computer. Nonetheless, I have managed to get some new field recordings, the most interesting being a soundscape I recorded in Shindagin Hollow a few weeks ago …
