Spine-Tingling Duck Wing Whooshes and Whistles
Duck Wing Whooshes and Whistles. 8am, Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska. Recording by Ted Mack, © 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 March, I travel to Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, located in west-central Nebraska, about twenty miles due north of the Platte River. It is early spring and the waterfowl migration is at its peak.
Looking for recording opportunities, I home in on a long, narrow pond only ten or fifteen feet wide and perhaps a hundred feet long, with steep banks on each side. It is a waterfowl mecca, with ducks of several species excitedly swimming about while feeding. Still others streak by overhead, their wings producing loud, spine-tingling whooshes or musical whistles, or else they land with a splash.
I dare not approach the pond because the ducks will scatter and might not return. So I wait until an hour before dawn the next morning, and under the cover of darkness, I place a soundscape mic in the middle of the pool. Fortunately, no ducks are present, but at first light they begin arriving and soon the pool is churning with activity.
Having run several hundred feet of audio cable to a sheltered spot behind a hill, I am able to hear the action firsthand over headphones, reveling in every detail without disturbing the ducks.
Species to listen for:
1) Loud peeps given mostly in flight: Green-winged Teal.
2) Melodious wing whistles while flying: Common Goldeneye.
3) Taking flight while calling chux-chux-chux: Northern Shoveler.
4) Otherworldly nasal calls (prominent at the end of the recording): Lesser Scaup.
5) Musical bird songs in the background: Western Meadowlark.
6) A loud raucous outburst followed wing flapping: Ring-necked Pheasant.
Note: This absolutely stunning recording was made by my close friend and recording partner Ted Mack (now deceased) during our extended 6-month recording expedition in 1994. The commentary reflects how he described the experience to me. Ted's recording is a testament to his sharp eyes and ears, and his uncanny ability to find really amazing situations in which to record.
Ted Mack (right) and myself the day we embarked on our 6-month recording expedition in 1994. What a fantastic trip that was!
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There are some ‘whooshes’ that I can hardly believe are from the natural world — are you sure there weren’t alien spaceships flying at low altitude overhead as well?! I’ll bet that there are some SFX houses in Hollywood who would love to repurpose these in Sci-Fi material, subsonics and all! Anyway … as usual, hugely enjoyable, and thanks so much for sharing this rarity!
Perhaps the low end has been accentuated somewhat by what is called the “proximity effect,” which is an acoustic phenomenon where a directional microphone’s bass response increases as it gets closer to a sound source. However, these were “omnidirectional’ mics, so I decided to leave it as it was recorded for fear I’d end up messing it up.
Hi All! Be sure to listen with headphones; otherwise you won’t experience the powerful spatial effect of this binaural recording! The ducks do sound as if they’re streaking by directly overhead … sometimes at arm’s length. It’s funny how the ducks made no attempt to steer away from the microphone setup, which was quite obvious there in the middle of the pool. I think this has to do with waterfowl being accustomed to man-made objects such as nest boxes and platforms, which don’t represent danger.
Interesting sound effects.
Another wonderful recording. We have also visited these small wet worlds on the prairie, and they are teeming with life! What creature sounds like a jet whooshing overhead? Thanks.
Thank you for these oldies but goodies. I like this one better than most of yours because the water sound is minimal and does not put me to sleep.