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.
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Coyote Reverberations
by Lang Elliott | Aug 31, 2022 | 141 comments
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.
READ MOREAdirondack Coyote Song
by Lang Elliott | Aug 30, 2021 | 69 comments
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.
READ MOREWolf Mountain
by Lang Elliott | Feb 20, 2021 | 43 comments
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 …
READ MORECoyote Moon
by Lang Elliott | Jan 22, 2021 | 51 comments
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 …
READ MOREBusy as a Beaver
by Lang Elliott | Jan 10, 2021 | 55 comments
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.
READ MOREAutumn Trek Podcast
by Lang Elliott | Dec 30, 2019 | 30 comments
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.
READ MOREBackyard Bird Walk – Earth Day 2018
by Lang Elliott | Apr 23, 2018 | 77 comments
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!
READ MOREPorcupine Panderings
by Lang Elliott | Oct 10, 2017 | 25 comments
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 …
READ MORECatskill Beaver Pond
by Lang Elliott | Oct 6, 2017 | 34 comments
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 …
READ MOREThe Clucking Munks
by Lang Elliott | Sep 29, 2017 | 27 comments
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 …
READ MOREPena Blanca Lake
by Lang Elliott | Apr 18, 2017 | 14 comments
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.
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