I spent another weekend in the Colockum Wildlife Area, camping at the border of Coffin Game Reserve for the last week of silence before firearm hunting season begins. The elk were particularly active, perhaps they knew what was coming and were trying to get everything out of life that they could.

Not long after dawn I witnessed a challenge. I heard it more than saw it, as it all took place on the other side of a stand of Ponderosa Pine. Two bulls met and clearly neither was going to quickly give on the right to the cows present nor the territory they roamed. They bellowed, galloped, and clashed antlers. I hadn't realized a challenge would last so long.

I learned a lot about elk vocalizations during this trip. The cows making mewling cry that I used to think was from the young. The bulls' bugles sound like very unsettling screams of torture from nearby. The farther away a bull's bugle is heard in the distance, the more hillside and forest reverberation swallows it, the more musical and majestic it becomes.

Interestingly, when in challenge, the bull's bugle turns into a bellow, a deep chesty roar that sounds not terribly unlike what one would expect to come from a Tyrannosaur on some Jurassic plain.

Listen carefully around 8:42-9:24 and again later starting at 13:32. You can hear the thumping of cloven hooves and the clashing of antlers as the two bulls go at it.

Elk Bull Challenge

An introductory message from Lang Elliott. Recorded live at 4pm, November 12, next to a small waterfall in the forested hills of upstate New York. 

Listen as Lang speaks off-the-cuff about what he's up to these days, including why he records binaurally and what his plans are for his SoundCloud channel.

Details about Lang's Soundscape Microphone:

I use a Crown SASS (Stereo Ambient Sampling System) that has been modified for use with Sennheiser MKH20 microphones. This setup is not commercially available, the stock SASS being discontinued. However, a number of nature recordists have posted information about homemade versions. Perhaps the most informative description of various SASS-alternatives is available on nature recordist Vicki Powys's website:

http://www.caperteebirder.com
(check out her "Recording Nature" tab

A Message from Lang

I'm learning my way around Kyma's envelope follower functions. Here's a clip using cloth whooshes as the envelope source, and a combination of springs and sustained fire as the source.

JW Kyma Fire Spring Whoosh 02 Nrm.clip

I spent a night in a bed of moss, listening to the sounds of Springtime Alaskan boreal taiga in the twilight. Nearby swam a pair of loons. A beaver circled, territorially slapping the water with its tail.
I smiled and listened.

Location: Long Lake, Talkeetna, AK

Weather: variable over the course of the night, 49-61°F, light to no wind, humidity rose from 31-52%

Geophony: Clear lake in a hilly boreal taiga, dominated by White Spruce, Bird, and thick beds of diverse mosses

Anthrophony: myself @90 feet, distant ambient generators (most of which I’ve edited out)

Biophony: Common Loon (Gavia Immer), Swainson’s Thrush (Catharus Ustulatus), American Robin (Turdus migratorius), other birds I don’t recognize, Beaver, insects (mostly white flies & mosquitos), river otter (visible, but silent)

For the gear curious:
stereo downmix from double mid-side
mid channels: MKH8040x2
side channel: MKH30
recorder: Zaxcom MAXX

Swainson's Thrush - Catharus Ustulatus - thrush heaven

Short excerpt from a 15-hour recording session deep in the Harenna cloud forest, Southern Ethiopia. Elusive predators and big ungulates roam these dense woods, some of them still unidentified.

Recorded with Sennheiser DMS. Get more sounds at https://mindful-audio.com

180928 Morning in Harenna Forest, Southern Ethiopia

Deep in the Harenna Forest there are small ponds and puddles created by the constant humidity of the cloud forest. Frogs congregate in these areas and call at all times of day and night, along with insects and birds. 
This is a recording I made on a muggy, lazy afternoon. It was overcast and quite hot so the birds were mostly quiet, but the frogs didn't seem to mind. I love how the water and vegetation reflect their loud calls. 
Recorded on Sony PCM D100. Get more sounds at https://mindful-audio.com.

180923 Harenna Forest - Frogs At Pond

A large collection of authentic B-25 flybys, takeoffs, landings, taxis, startups, and shutdowns with both internal and external perspectives.

    115 files
    96k/24bit
    2.5 GB
    Over 1 hour of audio
    Embedded Soundminer Metadata

B-25 Mitchell(sound effects audio preview collage)

Black Hairy Tongue - Awake To Steak

Black Hairy Tongue - Page 335

BBC Radio drama made entirely of sound effects - no dialogue!

Andrew Sachs-The Revenge

Introducing Endorphin Sound Library, a new series of sound packs produced by sound designer and field recordist Peter Comley. ESL will cover subjects such as nature, aviation, antique machinery, international travel, and more.

B-25 Mitchell(sound effects audio preview collage)

Endorphin_Sound_Library

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