Olympic Thrush Tones
Olympic Thrush Tones. 23 June 2017, at dawn, near Ozette Lake, Olympic National Park, Washington. Recorded by Lang Elliott. Please wear headphones. Image AI-gen.
Note: The recording featured here is a "3D binaural soundscape". Please wear headphones for a profound listening experience that will make you think you're actually out there, immersed in the natural world!
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.
Against a backdrop of subtle gurgles from a small stream and the gentle whoosh of a light breeze, two varied thrushes sing loudly from tall hemlocks while others sound off in the distance. Their vibrant, buzzy notes electrify the air. From the understory, a Swainson’s thrush sings prominently, its melodic flute-like notes sliding upward in pitch. A pileated woodpecker drums occasionally far in the distance. A band-tailed pigeon also chimes in, its hollow low-pitched coo-coo, coo-coo adding a pleasing musical element to the low end. And then, to top things off, a Pacific winter wren suddenly bursts forth with its high-pitched, liquid ramble exhilarating the mix.
I rest against the trunk of a towering tree and take in this exquisite blend of sounds—a veritable audio fingerprint of the ancient old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest.
Note: I was very fortunate to get this recording during my rather brief trip to Olympic National Park. I focused my efforts to the Ozette Lake area for one simple reason: due to the flatter landscape, there was far less stream noise to deal with (in more mountainous areas one cannot escape the loud rush of mountain brooks). In this recording, water-music is present, but only the subtle gurgle of a small stream.
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Wow, the Varied thrush and the Swainson’s thrush conversation is incredible in this recording. I really like this recording a lot because I have a soft spot for thrush songs.
Lang. Thanks for sharing these sounds with me. I hope everything is going better for you. And yes I still have that chipper bug CD.
Your friend,
Annette
Lang,
This is a symphony! Bravo! Wolfgang would have loved it. Alas, he died last Saturday.
Cheers,
Mike
Yes, I got a message alerting me of Wolfgang’s passing. He had a good long run, though, so I guess that in itself is a cause for celebration of a life well-lived.
Lang, We are both 78 years old
How lucky are we to enjoy nature & all it has to offer us.
Peace my friend & thank you.
I always love your recordings, Lang, and this one was beautiful. The close Varied Thrush was a little jarring though; I’m glad we have the Wood Thrush here in the East rather than that one in the Northwest. All else was lovely, and I wouldn’t have missed listening for anything. Thank you for sharing all these treasures.
Mary: Glad that you pointed out that the Varied Thrushes are perhaps too loud. That was my impression but I posted the recording anyway to see if anyone might complain. So, in light of your sensitive comments, I have edited to file to tone down the Varied Thrushes and used that file to replace the former one on this page. Let me know if the new version is more pleasing to your ears!
Hi Lang, which one is it who sounds like a veery going up instead of down?
Mary Ellen
Yes, it sounds close to the Veery, to me, too.
Swainson’s Thrush
Thank you for this exquisite soundscape Lang. It is such a gift to hear the world without layers of our human mechanical creations. A refreshing and nourishing shower for my brain and heart. And I’m grateful your gift is healing for fellow listeners like Ms.Hope.
Thank you. Truly and sincerely in every direction, Lang. Your sound recordings have saved my life. I have lost so many loved ones, 11 people and 3 animals since 2021. The last one hitting my heart beyond words. My only child, my son. Gone in February from an accident.Thank you. ❤️❤️❤️
Katrina: So sorry for your many losses and I hope my recordings help on some level. I’m wondering if you have an Apple mobile device and whether or not you are using my Pure Nature App?
Coolness!
I love Thrush songs but have never heard the Varied Thrush before.
The doves remind me of a cuckoo clock marking the passage of time, the way they chime in intermittently.
Yes, the Band-tailed Pigeon sounds much like the Common Cuckoo of Europe and Asia. When I first heard one, I didn’t know what species it was and thought it might be a Common Cuckoo that somehow got sucked into in a storm (perhaps in Japan) and then was deposited in the Pacific Northwest.
Beautiful
Glad you like it Dan. It is a definitely a nice mix of sound. My only complaint is that the two near Varied Thrushes are not well-separated in space, but there wasn’t much I could do about that.
Beautifully immersive with the perfect balance of varying birdsong, trickling water and the feeling of an expansive environment. Could listen all day. I use many of Lang’s recordings from way back(early 90’s on cassette), but he continues to excel and capture beautiful recordings time after time.
Thank you John. I’m now 78 years old and hope to keep doing soundscape work for some years to come.