My field recordings capture the sounds of nature as we really hear them. This means recording 3D Binaural Soundscapes. To do this, I use a stereo ambient sampling system (SASS) with ultra low noise microphones. This system mimics the properties of a human head and ears so that it “hears” what we do.

I have spent many days and countless hours seeking these pure soundscapes. It is not easy to find areas without noise pollution. I am proud to share these field recordings with you. Check out my other playlists for genre-specific nature sounds.

Thank you for your interest in pure, natural sounds. To experience these recordings as 3D environments of sound, please use headphones. Unplug from your daily stress and reconnect with nature’s healing music. 

To learn more about me and my work, please visit www.acousticnature.com

Thank you for listening! ♪

Relaxing Nature Sounds Playlist | Binaural Field Recording Album

Full story + photos: https://acousticnature.com/journal/recording-nature-sounds-in-the-congaree-national-park 

After having taken shelter from a violent wind and rain storm, I stumbled upon 3 pileated woodpeckers all on the same long leaf pine tree. Luckily, I had my Sony D100 on me and started recording. 

I love this atmosphere of light rain, mourning dove, and pileated woodpeckers!

Photo credit: Joshlaymon, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

3 Vocal Pileated Woodpeckers on Same Tree During Drizzle

Full Story: https://acousticnature.com/journal/field-recording-nature-sounds-in-santee-coastal-reserve

This album is a collection of the best recordings I made while exploring the Santee Coastal Reserve in South Carolina. The variety of sounds reflects the diverse landscape within the reserve.

All sounds were captured with handmade SASS microphones recording to Sony D100, Olympus LS-10, or Tascam DR05x field recorders.

Very Close Woodpecker - LS10 Drop Rig (6:56am)

Full Story: https://acousticnature.com/journal/field-recording-nature-sounds-in-santee-coastal-reserve 

This album is a collection of the best recordings I made while exploring the Santee Coastal Reserve in South Carolina. The variety of sounds reflects the diverse landscape within the reserve.

All sounds were captured with handmade SASS microphones recording to Sony D100, Olympus LS-10, or Tascam DR05x field recorders.

Photo Attribution: Clément Bardot, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Wild Alligator Bellowing at Night (11:57pm)

Full story + video: https://acousticnature.com/journal/recording-nature-sounds-in-the-okefenokee-swamp

My last day visiting the Okefenokee Swamp was filled with severe thunderstorm warnings. This storm happened early enough in the morning that the campground was still quiet. I'm assuming some people did leave during the storm, but the sheer loudness of the rain and thunder masked their activities. 

This recording was made with the internal microphones of the D100. It was on a mini tripod beside me in my tent pointed toward the thunder.

ASMR Thunderstorm + Rain Sounds Inside Tent (6:30am) - D100

Full Story + Video: https://acousticnature.com/journal/recording-nature-sounds-in-the-okefenokee-swamp

This field recording is of a powerful thunderstorm slowly approaching a small pine forest on the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp. To deaden the sound of raindrops on the SASS microphone, I put spanish moss on top of the enclosure. This worked really well!

Thunderstorm from Pine Forest POV (3:17pm) - LS10 w/SASS

The evening of my 5th and final night in the Chattahoochee National Forest brought extreme winds. I setup an LS-10 with a SASS microphone near my camp to capture the ambience. 

This 25min segment is the highlight of the powerful winds that swept over the ridge that night. 

During spring of 2021, I spent 5 nights camping in and recording the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia (4/18 - 4/23). Specifically, I was at the Lake Conasauga overflow campground.

Lake Conasauga is an artificial lake that is very popular with fishing people and camping families. Due to this popularity, I knew before I arrived that I didn't want to camp on the lake itself. As predicted, the lake was very busy (noisy) with people during my stay.

The overflow campground was quiet, empty, and was the location of the songbird trailhead; a trail leading to a mountain pond created by beavers. The area around the pond is managed by the Forest Service for bird diversity.

This trip was the longest period I've ever gone with zero human interaction in my life. From Sunday evening to Friday afternoon, the only people I saw were driving by the campground on the gravel road, and even then there were few vehicles. 

This area within the Chattahoochee blessed me with so many amazing experiences and sounds. By my last day I was filled with so much love and appreciation for the land. I've never felt more connected with our planet.

Please enjoy this presentation of one of the most peaceful places on Earth. Thank you for listening, until later ☼

30+ MPH Wind - Beautiful and Powerful Soundscape (7:45pm) - LS-10 w/SASS

This recording was made on a wooded boardwalk that jutted out into a mountain pond created by beavers. This recording served as an acoustic scouting report of the pond. From this drop rig, I learned what wildlife species exist on the pond, where they call from, and at what times.

During this windy night, my microphones captured pickerel frogs, spring peepers, barred owls, and beaver tail slaps. This upload is a nice ≈ 10min recording of this ambience.

Windy Pond Night Time Ambience (12:05am) - LS-10 w/SASS

Watch Video + Read Blog → https://acousticnature.com/journal/pachaug-state-forest-nature-sounds 

Full Album: https://soundcloud.com/acousticnature/sets/the-sounds-of-pachaug-state-forest 

In celebration of the Equinox, I camped and recorded nature sounds in the Pachaug State Forest in Connecticut on September 22nd, 2021.

Although Connecticut is my home state, this was my first overnight field recording trip. That's because Connecticut is not a great state for recording quiet nature sounds. Connecticut has zero national forests, zero national parks (not counting historic sites), and zero BLM land.

Since the Pachaug State Forest is the largest forest in the state (27,000 acres), I thought it was my best chance at recording silence. Although I did capture some noise pollution free sounds, it was challenging and most of my recordings were polluted even late into the night, primarily by vehicle noise. 

Most of these recordings were made possible thanks to rain and wind overpowering the noise pollution, rendering it inaudible.

Recording Gear Used:
Olympus LS-10
Olympus LS-10s
SASS Microphone
Telinga Modular Parabolic Microphone
JrF D-Series Hydrophone

Campfire at Night Ambience | SASS

Windy Pond at Night Ambience | SASS

🎧 Great Horned Owls Territory Battle | SASS

This is the most silent ambience I've recorded to date. Captured in an old growth forest in the White Mountains National Forest during Autumn, there are no sounds other than gentle wind blowing through the trees. 

The full recording is 1 hr 33 min and features nothing but occasional leaves moving and tree branches knocking into each other. 

Thanks for listening ♫

Windy Forest Soundbed (9:24pm) | LS-10 w/SASS

While exploring my local woodland during Winter Storm Bobby on 1/29/2022, I noticed a particularly loud and frequent creaking and popping coming from a large, dual-trunked yellow popular, Liriodendron tulipifera.

Upon further inspection, I found the popular was hollow and had a large, vertical crack running about 25' up the trunk. 

I setup my SASS microphone directly in front of the cavity and recorded for about an hour.

Unfortunately, a snow blower polluted most of the recording but I was able to capture about 20 minutes of pure tree creaks and pops! This recording is an excerpt from that longer file.

I plan to revisit this tree during every major wind storm with the hope of capturing the moment that it gives way and returns to the forest floor...stay tuned :)

Thanks for listening ♫

Tree Creaks Inside a Yellow Popular

Here in New England, Winter Storm Bobby brought over a foot of snow and winds in excess of 35mph to the landscape.

The storm started late Friday night (1/28/2022) and dropped about 3 inches of snow. 

Saturday was the main event with the heaviest snowfall occurring between 8am and 1pm at a rate of just over 1" per hour.

Luckily, I live within walking distance to a woodland and spent about 4 hours exploring and recording the storm. 

This recording is an excerpt from 45min recording from atop a ridgeline. Without a tripod due to packing light, I balanced my microphone against an old tree riddled with woodpecker holes and captured the sound of the wind. 

My favorite part of this recording is the almost sand-like texture the snow and ice add to the wind as it blows across the landscape. 

Thanks for listening.

Winter Wind And Snow | Winter Storm Bobby

The song of my favorite bird captured with incredible detail by the Telinga Modular with two EM272 capsules installed in stereo configuration.

Distance from the wood thrush was about 7 meters.

Telinga Modular Review: https://acousticnature.com/journal/telinga-modular-parabolic-microphone-review

Wood Thrush Song | Telinga Modular Parabolic Microphone

Library Demo: Okefenokee Swamp | Ambient Swamp Sounds

Ocean's Breath

Whispering Waters

Beavers & Woodcocks captures an early spring evening of field recording at a quiet Connecticut sanctuary, where I was treated to the sounds of a curious beaver, a pair of displaying woodcocks, and a sudden downpour that wrapped the night in wild beauty.

Microphones: Telinga Modular w/x2 Sennheiser MKH8020s
Recorder: Zoom F6

Woodcock Male Flight Calls, Rain - Trail Wood

Woodcock Male Peent Calls - Trail Wood

Woodcock Close Calls, Fly Away, Unique Vocalization - Fisherville Brook

Beaver Tail Slap - Trail Wood

Woodcock Twittering, Chirps, Peent Calls - Fisherville Brook

Beaver Gnawing on Water Lily Roots - Trail Wood

This album is a collection of sounds I recorded @ Douglas State Forest on January 13, 2020. 

Two consecutive days +65° in the middle of winter produced the sounds of this unique landscape. All natural sounds of trickling water, whipping winds and detailed footstep/walking textures. 

Field recordings were produced by a DIY SASS microphone and an old Olympus LS-10 PCM recorder.

Thank you for listening!

Bubbling Stream Sound [Binaural Recording]

This was a really fun field recording to make. While hiking at the Douglas Forest, I found a 6" deep pool that had frozen over. There was lots of air trapped under the ice which made for some really great cracking, squeaking and breaking sound effects.

Nature is the originator of ASMR sounds and this is a great example. The textures captured in this recording are so detailed and complex. Enjoy this binaural recording with headphones to fully experience the sound! 

Thanks for listening!

Cracking Ice Sounds [ASMR]

Please enjoy this field recording of birds singing at sunset! I recorded this landscape while camping on Vickery Pond at Pillsbury State Park in New Hampshire. Throughout the recorded audio, you can hear frogs, insects, water sound effects, and, of course, birds! This was such a relaxing and peaceful place, I hope you are transported here too while listening!

This field recording was created using an Olympus LS-10 PCM Recorder paired with an external DIY SASS recording rig on a tripod on the edge of the pond. 

Thank you for listening!

Singing Bird Songs at Sunset | HD Binaural Field Recording

This was a really unique field recording for me! I had hiked all day and noticed an ephemeral wetland near the beginning of the trail. Upon further inspection, I saw many tadpoles and frog and salamander eggs...a great sign! 

I love the sounds of frogs so I knew I would stay to record them. The spring peepers began calling right at sunset (7:30pm) and the american toads joined in about 20 minutes later. I plan to come back to this location in the future more prepared for cold weather. My hands were freezing after being in the field for only an hour after dark.

Please enjoy this night time recording of ephemeral wetland frogs. Species present include spring peeper and american toad. I captured this field recording with a home-made binaural SASS microphone recording to an Olympus LS-10 PCM recorder.

Spring Peeper Sounds [Wetland Field Recording]

Not the usual, nature-only, from me, but I think this soundscape recording shows how nature and humans can co-create beautiful sounds. The gentle rain hitting the window with crickets chirping in the distance is very relaxing to listen to.

Recorded with a DIY binaural SASS recording rig with Primo EM-172 microphone capsules. I use this setup paired with an Olympus LS-10 recorder for a low budget, low noise solution. 

To see more of my work or to contact me, please visit www.acousticnature.com

Binaural Rain Sound on Window w/Crickets | Field Recording

As I was getting ready to leave the Sumter National Forest, I heard a field cricket chirping in a clear-cut area. I sneaked up as quietly and as closely as I could to capture this recording of a cricket. I was surprised that only one cricket was chirping, but it made for a very focused and detailed field recording. 

This is just an excerpt from a much longer, 23 minute recording. This area was so quiet, I was able to record the chirping cricket for a long time without any noise pollution. 

Recorded with a DIY binaural SASS recording rig with Primo EM-172 microphone capsules. I use this setup paired with an Olympus LS-10 recorder for a low budget, low noise option. 

Thank you for listening ♫

To see more of my work or to contact me, please visit www.acousticnature.com

Cricket and Woodpecker Recording @ Sunset | Ambient Nature Field Recording

This beautiful stream was located in the Sumter National Forest in South Carolina. It is a very remote area and a great place to relax and listen to the babbling sounds of the stream. Due to the pristine sonic conditions here, I was able to record this stream for 30 minutes with no noise pollution. This is only a 5 minute excerpt from that recording.

As seen in the image, I put my recording rig right in front of the babbling stream to increase the amount of detail captured. With my binaural microphones, I was able to capture strong directional sound for your ears to enjoy!

Recorded with a DIY binaural SASS recording rig with Primo EM-172 microphone capsules. I use this setup paired with an Olympus LS-10 recorder for a low budget, low noise option. 

Thank you for listening ♫

To see more of my work or to contact me, please visit www.acousticnature.com

3D Babbling Stream Sounds | Binaural Nature Soundscape

This recording was INSANE! 

At 3am, I was awoken by this thunder storm. I remembered I had left my car windows cracked so I quickly dressed and went outside to close them. Before I went back inside, I stayed on the porch for a few minutes just listening to the storm. I realized that this was a huge storm and would be a great opportunity for field recording! I went back inside, grabbed my Sony D-100 and got to work. 

The full-length recording is 24 minutes but I could only use this 15 minute section because I initially had my gain set too high. As the storm increased in intensity, I had to lower my gain twice. This segment is the pinnacle of the storm. The bolts of lightning were so loud they literally reverberated inside my body.  

I have never experienced a thunderstorm this close in proximity. Next time I record lightning, I will be sure to set my gains lower initially.

Thank you for listening ♫

Insane Lightning Storm Sounds of Thunder [Field Recording]

I recorded this track in the spring of 2018 at the Douglas State Forest in Massachusetts, USA. My specific location within the forest was the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp. With very dense trees and a thick carpet of sphagnum moss, this area is naturally sound-proofed.

This area gets a lot of aircraft traffic and I was lucky to capture this 6 minute recording. I did not use any rain protection over my binaural recording rig so there are some rain drops that are quite loud as they fall directly on my setup. 

For more information about me, please visit my website at www.acousticnature.com

Thank you for reading and listening ♫

Very Light Peaceful Rain in a Swamp | EM172 Stereo Pair

The first two days of my trip to the Chattooga River in South Carolina were filled with rain and thunder storms that kept me inside my tent for much of the day. 

I recorded this story with my Sony PCM D100 setup on a tripod inside my tent. I tried to position it as close to the rain fly as possible to get really strong, directional sound of the rain drops hitting the fly.

Check out my website for more information: www.acousticnature.com

Thank you for reading and listening ☺

ASMR Light Rain Drops Falling on Tent + Thunder (Sony D100)

This is my favorite recording from my 5 day camping trip on the Chattooga River in South Carolina. 

I woke up around 5am this morning to the first bird call of the dawn chorus. I quickly and quietly got out of my sleeping bag and setup my Sony D100 on a tripod and began recording. 

This recording is the highlight from a longer, 60 minute recording. I love the natural reverb effect from the birds calling across the open river. 

Thank you for taking the time to read and listen ☺

Check out my website for more: www.acousticnature.com

Dawn Chorus on a River | Sony D100 Field Recording

This recording was captured right in front of my tent at a little after 5am on the side of the Chattooga River. The section I was camping near was very calm and saw many people fishing and tubing on the river each day. Luckily traffic was minimal this morning and I was able to record some pristine nature sounds!

Recorded with a Sony D100 on a tripod, sensitivity 10. 

Please visit my website for more information about me and my mission: www.acousticnature.com

Thank you for reading and listening ☺

The Break of Dawn Chorus (Sony D100)

The day before Halloween, we got our first snow of the year in New England. I had been eagerly awaiting this day ever since I saw the first forecasting for snow. 

At about 9am, I packed up my gear and headed to the quietest place in town. Here, I hiked for about a mile before setting up my first recording. Today I used my Sony PCM D100, external SASS binaural microphone, and my trusty Benro Tripod. To keep my D100 from getting wet, I put it inside a dry-bag and clipped it to the tripod.

In total, I captured recordings of 3 unique locations. When I got home, I had about an hour of audio to edit. There wasn't too much noise pollution and I ended up with just under 20 minutes of usable audio. I will be posting one other recording from this trip.

Thank you for reading and listening ♫

To learn more about me and the hobby of field recording, please visit my website at www.acousticnature.com

Winter Winds And Falling Snow | New England Winter Soundscape

Starting in November, things get windy here in New England. The trees are barren of leaves, leaving the wind free to travel at faster speeds and greater distances. 

On a particularly windy day, I grabbed my Olympus LS-10, DIY wind shield and ventured out into my backyard. I placed my recorder in the middle of a clump of little bluestem grass and started recording. I tried to center the recorder to keep the L-R balanced and I'm happy with the result. 

In total, I recorded for three hours. Between traffic noise, my neighbors and aircraft, I ended up with a little over 5 minutes of usable audio split between two clips with this being the longer of the two.

There is an audible windchime in the background @3:30. I chose to leave it in because I don't find it overly distracting and I think it adds to the recording as a whole. 

To learn more about the hobby of field recording, please visit my website at www.acousticnature.com

Thanks for listening ♫

Wind Blowing through Tall Grass | Nature Field Recording

This is an underwater field recording of the sound of tiny pebbles being tossed back-and-forth by the ocean tide. I really like the sound the small rocks make underwater and find this recording very relaxing. 

I believe I captured the sound of an animal at 4:48 and 11:43. If you know what this is, please let me know. The microphone was in water about a foot deep. 

This is one of the first field recordings I have captured with my new JrF D-series hydrophone. For this recording, I paired the hydrophone with my Olympus LS-10. 

I am really happy with the low-noise performance and high sensitivity of this microphone and I'm excited to try it out in new places.

If you are interested in field recording, please visit my website at https://www.acousticnature.com for information, advice and reviews!

Thanks for listening and for reading ♫
-Jared

Underwater Rocks in the Tide | Hydrophone Field Recording

I've always loved playing in the snow. As a kid, one of my favorite things to do was to simply lie down and listen to the subtle sound of snowflakes landing on my jacket. That sound is pure peace to me.

To recreate this childhood memory, I put my SASS microphone in the hood of my winter jacket and set it outside during Winter Storm Gail on December 15th, 2020 at 7pm. 

There was already a half-inch of snow on the ground and the snow was really starting to come down. Just in the few minutes it took to setup the rig and get the D100 in a drybag, the entire jacket was already under a layer of snow.

In comparison to my memory, this recording has too much wind. Hopefully the next snowstorm will be more calm and I will be able to more closely capture my memory.

Thank you for reading and for listening ☺

To read more about field recording advice, tips and reviews, please visit my website at www.acousticnature.com

The Sound of Falling Snow | Childhood Memory Recreation

This is a recording of the first real snow storm of the year on December 15th 2020 in New England. The snow started at 6pm and I began this recording just before 7pm; we had already received about an inch of snow. 

The winds were high and I was excited to setup this recording rig to capture the sounds of the snow, wind and chimes.

To prepare the wind protection for this recording, I put bubblebee wind bubbles over the LS10 mic capsules, and then inserted the body into a DIY windscreen and tightened it down.

The wind protection did great for the average wind speeds (15mph), but the 20+ mph gusts were able to leak through. I actually like the effect of this and I find it sounds similar to fast winds in our own ears, so I chose to leave them in the final recording. This helped me to get this long, 13 minute clip.

I secured the LS10 to a metal wall hanging with a 4" bungee cord. In the past I have used electrical tape for this job but found it very wasteful and didn't like the sticky residue that it left on my gear. The bungee cord was a great success in this recording and I look forward to using them in the future!

If I could redo this recording, I would position the LS10 further below the wind chimes to get a better balance between chimes and wind. I find the chimes too overpowering in this recording.

To read more about field recording, please visit my website at www.acousticnature.com -- I post all kinds of field recording articles on my blog.

Thanks for listening ♫

Wind Chimes In A Blizzard | Winter Field Recording

Full Story + Photos: https://acousticnature.com/journal/field-recording-trip-vermont-ice-storm 

I recorded this soundscape at my friend's cabin in Vermont near the Green Mountain National Forest. The forest was covered in a thick layer of ice from a recent freezing rain storm. 

While I was chopping wood, I noticed the sound of ice crystals falling to the forest floor and shattering. The sound was constant and gusts of wind caused larger crystals to fall. 

As soon as I became aware of this subtle sound, I knew I had to record it. Because I didn't know how much battery life I would get in the frigid temps (15°F), I waited until 11pm to setup my recording gear. I did this to maximize my chance at a noise-pollution-free recording hoping that most people would be asleep.

To setup the recording I wanted to bungee cord my binaural microphone to a tree, but it was too difficult and too cold to have the patience necessary to get it right. Instead, I simply put the microphone on top of a snow bank facing the forest and the D100 in a dry bag next to it.

I was shocked to find the D100 still recording when I returned at 7:26am.

In total, I recorded for 8hr 22min and ended up with 23min of usable audio (≈4.6%). In post-production, I added a lo-cut filter at 180Hz, 12dB/octave to remove some low-frequency wind rumbling, and increased the loudness slightly to -30LKFS. 

Recorder: D100
Mics: DIY Binaural Housing
Sensitivity: 4
Lo-cut: OFF
Time: 11:04pm
Wind Protection: 2 Winter Hats

To learn more about me, my gear, or field recording in general, please visit my website at www.acousticnature.com

Thank you for reading and listening. ♫
-Jared

Shattering Ice Forest | Freezing Rain Aftermath in Vermont

I was really excited to capture this recording. Even though it's not a raw nature recording like I usually post, it is still an element of nature and sounds beautifully organic. 

We had a fire going all day long. I eagerly awaited the evening when I could have some quality time with the hearth.

Around 10pm, I added fresh logs to the fire. I didn't start recording right away because of two sounds. One: as the metal hearth heated up, the metal expanded and made banging sounds. Two: the wood was slightly wet and was making high-pitched hissing sounds as the water vapor escaped. 

While I waited for these sounds to stop, I grabbed my camera and took lots of action shots of the flames. The photo for this recording was my favorite of about 200 ☺

When it was time, I setup my D100 on a tripod about 18" (45cm)away from the flames. I made slight adjustments to the angle until I was happy with the composition. 

I had to use a higher lo-cut filter than I would have liked because of the hum of our refrigerator.

I hope you like it! If you are interested in field recordings, please check out my website at www.acousticnature.com 

Thanks for listening,
Jared ♫

Fire in the Hearth | D100 Field Recording

All albums available for "Name Your Price" on BandCamp (personal listening use only). Please contact me for creative and commercial licensing through my website acousticnature.com

Jared Blake

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