Shindagin Hollow habitat American Robin singing at dawn in Mid-July. 4:50am, 13 July 2016, Shindagin Hollow near Brooktondale, New York. © Lang Elliott. Please play at a low volume to simulate a natural listening experience.

Click Here for direct link to MP3.

This morning I arrived at Shindagin Hollow around 4:30am. It was dead quiet. I walked into the forest and made my way to a small stream, which turned out to be near-dry, with only scattered stagnant pools. I sat on a large log that spanned the stream. I had no particular expectations with regard to recording birds. Maybe a gentle chorus of distant singers? Maybe no bird song? It’s mid-July and the soundscape was almost certain to be muted.

Shindagin Hollow habitat At 4:45am a distant robin began singing. “Ah,” I remember thinking, “a robin making music in the hollow in mid-July … how relaxing!”. And then a surprise. Another robin suddenly sounded off from nearby, soon flying in so close that his song overpowered my microphones. I was delighted but irritated at his loudness. Lucky for me, he soon flew to a more distant perch, allowing me to capture his resonant performance with a nice ambient background.

Regretfully, my “bird recording season” is rapidly coming to a close. Over the next two weeks I’ll be catching up on sleep, giving several presentations, and preparing for a new journey to record insect sounds. My plan is to leave Ithaca around July 24 and drive westward, to Land Between the Lakes Kentucky and beyond, recording insect soundscapes as I go. I also plan to visit my sister in Missouri, as well as Carl Gerhardt, a close friend and coauthor of my book “Frogs and Toads of North America.” My journey will only last a couple of weeks, at which time I’ll return to Ithaca and get right to work on some new projects (more about them at a later date).

If all goes well, I’ll blog while on the road, sharing insect recordings and whatever else I manage to capture. Maybe I’ll get lucky with screech-owls, or perhaps coyotes. Whatever nature offers, I will gratefully accept. My responsibility is simple … just get myself out into nature and maintain a receptive frame of mind. Everything else will happen of its own accord.

Hey, I rather like the sound of this morning’s robin, don’t you?

One more treat for those interested … me talking this morning, leading up to when the robin began singing overhead:

Lang chatting at dawn in Shindagin Hollow. 4:45am, 13 July 2016, Shindagin Hollow near Brooktondale, New York. © Lang Elliott. Please play at a low volume to simulate a natural listening experience.

Click Here for direct link to MP3.

just lang signature

4702-1Friends … if you find that my blog has a positive impact on your life, please help support my effort by making a modest donation.

28
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x
Logo - reversed

Subscribe to My Newsletter

Join my mailing list to be notified when I publish new articles or blog posts.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This