Travel over 2,000 miles during spring bird migration 2019 with project lead Dr. Jacob Job and audio producer Jacqueline Van Meter to examine the mutual challenges that migratory birds and humans face due to human activity on the planet. 'Voices of a Flyway' stimulates active, mindful listening to nature, reintroduces us to the species and places of our past, deepens our connection to the natural world, and heals our collective mindset about our place within it. 

To learn more about the project, visit www.voicesofaflyway.com/explore to start exploring our 6 interactive story maps that feature more of the stories, photos, and videos of the project!

Voices of a Flyway

A peaceful afternoon in the woods with birds and rain in Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. Recorded using a Sound Devices MixPre6 digital audio recorder and two Sennheiser MKH20 omnidirectional microphones places in a homemade binaural housing.

Species you might be able to hear include: Scarlet Tanager, Wood Thrush, Red-eyed Vireo, Pileated Woodpecker, American Crow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern Parula, Tufted Titmouse, Louisiana Waterthrush, Black-and-white Warbler, Veery, Yellow-throated Warbler, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Summer Tanager, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Bluebird, Black-capped Chickadee, Common Nighthawk, and Gray treefrogs.

Wear headphones for the best listening experience.

Enjoy!

This recording was made while working on the 'Voices of a Flyway' project. Recordings were made under permits issued by the park and for the purpose of science and education.

'Voices of a Flyway' Soundscapes: Afternoon Chorus and Rain at Land Between the Lakes

Episode 1: An introduction to 'Voices of a Flyway', setting the stage for what to expect on our 2.5 month, 2,000 mile journey.

To learn more about the project, visit www.voicesofaflyway.com/explore to start exploring our 6 interactive story maps that feature more of the stories, photos, and videos of the project!

Funded by an Explorer grant from National Geographic, our team - a soundscape recordist, an audio producer, and a wildlife photographer - traveled from the Louisiana coastline to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota with the 2019 spring songbird migration. We visited six at-risk ecosystems along the route to uncover:  

 1. Why each of these delicate ecosystems is so critical to bird migration.
     
2. The infinite ways that people living in these areas share connections to the natural world. 

3. What stands to be lost as these ecosystems vanish?

'Voices of a Flyway' Episode 1: Introduction

Episode 2: In this episode, our journey on the road begins, with a story of convergence. Many are heading north, some, like us, have headed south, but we’re all meeting for the very first time on the northern shores of the Gulf of Mexico. A coast that is quickly vanishing into the sea.

To learn more about the project, visit www.voicesofaflyway.com/explore to start exploring our 6 interactive story maps that feature more of the stories, photos, and videos of the project!

Funded by an Explorer grant from National Geographic, our team - a soundscape recordist, an audio producer, and a wildlife photographer - traveled from the Louisiana coastline to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota with the 2019 spring songbird migration. We visited six at-risk ecosystems along the route to uncover:

1. Why each of these delicate ecosystems is so critical to bird migration.

2. The infinite ways that people living in these areas share connections to the natural world.

3. What stands to be lost as these ecosystems vanish?

'Voices of a Flyway' Episode 2: The Coastal Wetlands

Episode 3: In this episode, we climb up into the pines of Central Louisiana. We’ve seen on the coast how big industry can end up dominating an ecosystem. Here, we look at three communities embroiled in their own fights to survive. To find out what it means to partner with the big industry on your doorstep, OR, to oppose it head on.

To learn more about the project, visit www.voicesofaflyway.com/explore to start exploring our 6 interactive story maps that feature more of the stories, photos, and videos of the project!

Funded by an Explorer grant from National Geographic, our team - a soundscape recordist, an audio producer, and a wildlife photographer - traveled from the Louisiana coastline to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota with the 2019 spring songbird migration. We visited six at-risk ecosystems along the route to uncover:

1. Why each of these delicate ecosystems is so critical to bird migration.

2. The infinite ways that people living in these areas share connections to the natural world.

3. What stands to be lost as these ecosystems vanish?

'Voices of a Flyway' Episode 3: The Piney Woods

Episode 4: In this episode, we take our first look at modern agriculture on this Flyway. Timber companies in North Louisiana and Eastern Arkansas, like we’ve seen before, clear cut trees all the way off the landscape here, but this time they put something ...entirely different in its place. We’ll get a rare glimpse inside the forgotten forests that covered this place before farm country was farm country. We’ll meet the farm families who became the custodians of a new land of soy and corn. And discover how farming’s evolution into yet another one of America’s billion dollar industries has taken a different kind of toll on community in the heartland.

To learn more about the project, visit www.voicesofaflyway.com/explore to start exploring our 6 interactive story maps that feature more of the stories, photos, and videos of the project!

Funded by an Explorer grant from National Geographic, our team - a soundscape recordist, an audio producer, and a wildlife photographer - traveled from the Louisiana coastline to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota with the 2019 spring songbird migration. We visited six at-risk ecosystems along the route to uncover:

1. Why each of these delicate ecosystems is so critical to bird migration.

2. The infinite ways that people living in these areas share connections to the natural world.

3. What stands to be lost as these ecosystems vanish?

'Voices of a Flyway' Episode 4: The Bottomland Forests

Episode 5: In this episode, we head to higher ground to explore the Mississippi Flyway’s biggest urban centers. What does it mean for birds when hundreds of thousands humans congregate on once densely forested landscape? What does it mean for people to have a relationship with the ecosystem when they’re living a life that’s “urbanized”? Turns out, the barriers of access to the natural world are many. We’re looking at how folks, in spite of the odds, are trying to get past them. And what can happen….. if they make it to the other side.

To learn more about the project, visit www.voicesofaflyway.com/explore to start exploring our 6 interactive story maps that feature more of the stories, photos, and videos of the project!

Funded by an Explorer grant from National Geographic, our team - a soundscape recordist, an audio producer, and a wildlife photographer - traveled from the Louisiana coastline to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota with the 2019 spring songbird migration. We visited six at-risk ecosystems along the route to uncover:

1. Why each of these delicate ecosystems is so critical to bird migration.

2. The infinite ways that people living in these areas share connections to the natural world.

3. What stands to be lost as these ecosystems vanish?

'Voices of a Flyway Episode 5: The Upland Deciduous Forests

Episode 6: In the songs and stories of our American heritage, the prairie was a folk hero in and of itself. Where deer and antelope played. The heart of what would become our beloved amber waves of grain. But how many of us have ever seen it for ourselves? This land of American lore? Nearly 100% of Iowa's prairies are gone. In their place, endless rows of corn and soy. We examine the forces at play that wiped this ecosystem off the map, and those that are trying to resurrect it.

To learn more about the project, visit www.voicesofaflyway.com/explore to start exploring our 6 interactive story maps that feature more of the stories, photos, and videos of the project!

Funded by an Explorer grant from National Geographic, our team - a soundscape recordist, an audio producer, and a wildlife photographer - traveled from the Louisiana coastline to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota with the 2019 spring songbird migration. We visited six at-risk ecosystems along the route to uncover:

1. Why each of these delicate ecosystems is so critical to bird migration.

2. The infinite ways that people living in these areas share connections to the natural world.

3. What stands to be lost as these ecosystems vanish?

'Voices of a Flyway' Episode 6: The Tallgrass Prairie

Episode 7: In this episode, we go inside a place altogether different than anything we’ve seen before. An ecosystem ... still intact. Where true wildness and untold value, still remains. In these North Woods that grow at the source if it all, there’s a chance to do things differently. And we …. have a collective decision to make. What can we learn from our wildest remaining place? And will we learn the lessons from the places we’ve seen, and protect what’s here before it goes the way they have?

To learn more about the project, visit www.voicesofaflyway.com/explore to start exploring our 6 interactive story maps that feature more of the stories, photos, and videos of the project!

Funded by an Explorer grant from National Geographic, our team - a soundscape recordist, an audio producer, and a wildlife photographer - traveled from the Louisiana coastline to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota with the 2019 spring songbird migration. We visited six at-risk ecosystems along the route to uncover:

1. Why each of these delicate ecosystems is so critical to bird migration.

2. The infinite ways that people living in these areas share connections to the natural world.

3. What stands to be lost as these ecosystems vanish?

'Voices of a Flyway' Episode 7: The Boreal Forest

This night chorus of frogs and insects was recorded on April 15, 2019 at the back of the Bayou Coquille Trail in Jean Lafitte National Park using a Sound Devices MixPre6 digital audio recorder and two Sennheiser MKH20 omnidirectional microphones placed in a homemade binaural housing.

Species you might be able to hear include: Pig frog, Northern cricket frog, Green frog, Green tree frog, Southern leopard frog, and several insect species.

Wear headphones for the best listening experience.

Enjoy!


This recording was made while working on the 'Voices of a Flyway' project. Recordings were made under permits issued by the park and for the purpose of science and education.

'Voices of a Flyway' Soundscapes: Night Time Along the Bayou

This thunderstorm was recorded during the afternoon of May 31, 2019 in the backcountry of Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota using a Sound Devices MixPre6 digital audio recorder and two Sennheiser MKH20 omnidirectional microphones placed in a homemade binaural housing.

Bird species heard include (in rough order of appearance): Cape May Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, Veery, Ruffed Grouse, Ovenbird, and Chipping Sparrow.

Wear headphones for the best listening experience.

Enjoy!

This recording was made while working on the 'Voices of a Flyway' project. Recordings were made under permits issued by the park and for the purpose of science and education.

'Voices of a Flyway' Soundscapes: Thunderstorm in the Boreal Wilderness

This dawn chorus was recorded during the early morning of May 11, 2019 in seldom visited Ripple Hollow within the Shawnee National Forest of Illinois using a Sound Devices MixPre6 digital audio recorder and two Sennheiser MKH20 omnidirectional microphones placed in a homemade binaural housing.

Bird species heard include (in rough order of appearance): Scarlet Tanager, Wood Thrush, Acadian Flycatcher, Indigo Bunting, Northern Cardinal, Louisiana Waterthrush, Northern Parula, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Veery, Wild Turkey, White-eyed Vireo, Ovenbird, Tufted Titmouse, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Carolina Wren, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-eyed Vireo, Kentucky Warbler, Carolina Chickadee, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tennessee Warbler, American Crow, Baltimore Oriole, Swainson's Thrush, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Pileated Woodpecker.

Wear headphones for the best listening experience.

Enjoy!

This recording was made while working on the 'Voices of a Flyway' project. Recordings were made under permits issued by the park and for the purpose of science and education.

'Voices of a Flyway' Soundscapes: Dawn in Ripple Hollow

This dawn chorus was recorded during the early morning of April 22, 2019 is an isolated section of Kisatchie National Forest, LA using a Sound Devices MixPre6 digital audio recorder and two Sennheiser MKH20 omnidirectional microphones places in a homemade binaural housing.

Bird species heard include (in rough order of appearance): Northern Cardinal, Bachman's Sparrow, Pine Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Blue Jay, Carolina Wren, American Crow, Barred Owl, Mourning Dove, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Eastern Turkey, Eastern Screech Owl, and Brown-headed Nuthatch. The most common species heard are Bachman's Sparrow and Pine Warbler. The Red-cockaded Woodpecker is a federally endangered species.

Wear headphones for the best listening experience.

Enjoy!

This recording was made while working on the 'Voices of a Flyway' project. Recordings were made under permits issued by the park and for the purpose of science and education.

'Voices of a Flyway' Soundscapes: Dawn in the Piney Woods

This nighttime chorus of insects and frogs was recorded on April 15, 2019 near the front of the Bayou Coquille Trail in Jean Lafitte National Park, LA using a Sound Devices MixPre6 digital audio recorder and two Sennheiser MKH20 omnidirectional microphones placed in a homemade binaural housing.

Species you might be able to hear include: Green frog, Northern cricket frog, Barred Owl, various cricket species, and Green tree frog.

Wear headphones for the best listening experience.

Enjoy!

This recording was made while working on the 'Voices of a Flyway' project. Recordings were made under permits issued by the park and for the purpose of science and education.

'Voices of a Flyway' Soundscapes: Sounds of the Night at Jean Lafitte

This morning chorus of birds, frogs, and insects was recorded on April 16, 2019 along the Bayou Coquille Trail in Jean Lafitte National Park using a Sound Devices MixPre6 digital audio recorder and two Sennheiser MKH20 omnidirectional microphones placed in a homemade binaural housing. The recording is a compilation of sounds from six different locations along the trail from the same morning.

Species you might be able to hear include: Carolina Wren, Tufted Titmouse, Barred Owl, White-eyed Vireo, Carolina Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, American Crow, Prothonotary Warbler, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Parula, Northern cricket frog, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Green frog, Pileated Woodpecker, Great-tailed Grackle, Pig frog, and Laughing gull.

Wear headphones for the best listening experience.

Enjoy!

This recording was made while working on the 'Voices of a Flyway' project. Recordings were made under permits issued by the park and for the purpose of science and education.

'Voices of a Flyway' Soundscapes: Morning Walk Along Bayou Coquille

This chorus of frogs and Barred Owls was recorded on April 25, 2019 at Tensas National Wildlife Refuge, LA using a Sound Devices MixPre6 digital audio recorder and two Sennheiser MKH20 omnidirectional microphones placed in a homemade binaural housing.

Species you might be able to hear include: Cope's gray tree frog, American bullfrog, Barred Owl, Gray tree frog, and Green tree frog.

Wear headphones for the best listening experience.

Enjoy!

This recording was made while working on the 'Voices of a Flyway' project. Recordings were made under permits issued by the park and for the purpose of science and education.

'Voices of a Flyway' Soundscapes: Owls in the Bottomland Forest

This bird rookery was recorded at dawn on April 06, 2019 at Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuary in High Island, TX using a Sound Devices MixPre6 digital audio recorder and two Sennheiser MKH20 omnidirectional microphones placed in a homemade binaural housing.

Species you might be able to hear include: Great Egret, Neotropic Cormorant, Snowy Egret, Roseate Spoonbill, Common Gallinule, Great-tailed Grackle, and Blue Jay.

Wear headphones for the best listening experience.

Enjoy!

This recording was made while working on the 'Voices of a Flyway' project. Recordings were made under permits issued by the park and for the purpose of science and education.

'Voices of a Flyway' Soundscapes: High Island Rookery

This dawn chorus was recorded at Agnes Lake on June 1, 2019 at Agnes Lake in Voyageurs National Park, MN using a Sound Devices MixPre6 digital audio recorder and two Sennheiser MKH20 omnidirectional microphones placed in a homemade binaural housing.

Species you might be able to hear include: White-throated Sparrow, American Bittern, Common Yellowthroat, Swamp Sparrow, Veery, Ruffed Grouse, Spring peeper, American toad, American Robin, Common Loon, North American beaver, Song Sparrow, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Canada Goose, Mallard, Hermit Thrush, Gray tree frog, Nashville Warbler, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

Wear headphones for the best listening experience.

Enjoy!

This recording was made while working on the 'Voices of a Flyway' project. Recordings were made under permits issued by the park and for the purpose of science and education.

'Voices of a Flyway' Soundscapes: Dawn at Agnes Lake

This evening chorus was recorded on May 7, 2019 in Land Between the Lakes, KY using a Sound Devices MixPre6 digital audio recorder and two Sennheiser MKH20 omnidirectional microphones placed in a homemade binaural housing.

Species you might be able to hear include: Chuck-will's-widow, Whip-poor-will, Eastern Screech-Owl, and Barred Owl.

Wear headphones for the best listening experience.

Enjoy!

This recording was made while working on the 'Voices of a Flyway' project. Recordings were made under permits issued by the park and for the purpose of science and education.

'Voices of a Flyway' Soundscapes: Night time in Land Between the Lakes

This evening chorus was recorded at Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, LA on April 8, 2019 using a Sound Devices MixPre6 digital audio recorder and two Sennheiser MKH20 omnidirectional microphones placed in a homemade binaural housing.

Some of the bird species you might be able to hear include: Least Bittern, Red-winged Blackbird, Green Heron, Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Black-necked Stilt?, Common Gallinule, Gadwall, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Swamp Sparrow, Sora, Virginia Rail, Great-tailed Grackle, Great Horned Owl, Marsh Wren?, Tree Swallow, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. 

Wear headphones for the best listening experience.

Enjoy!

This recording was made while working on the 'Voices of a Flyway' project. Recordings were made under permits issued by the refuge and for the purpose of science and education.

'Voices of a Flyway' Soundscapes: An Evening in a Gulf Coast Marsh

This quick passing thunderstorm was recorded on May 31, 2019 in Voyageurs National Park, MN using a Sound Devices MixPre6 digital audio recorder and two Sennheiser MKH20 omnidirectional microphones places in a homemade binaural housing.

Species you might be able to hear include: Barred Owl, Common Loon, Spring peepers, Pickerel frogs, and American toads.

Wear headphones for the best listening experience.

Enjoy!

This recording was made while working on the 'Voices of a Flyway' project. Recordings were made under permits issued by the park and for the purpose of science and education.

'Voices of a Flyway' Soundscapes: Midnight Thunderstorm in Voyageurs

Travel over 2,000 miles during spring bird migration 2019 with project lead Dr. Jacob Job and audio producer Jacqueline Van Meter to examine the mutual challenges that migratory birds and humans face due to human activity on the planet. 'Voices of a Flyway' stimulates active, mindful listening to nature, reintroduces us to the species and places of our past, deepens our connection to the natural world, and heals our collective mindset about our place within it. 

Project lead Dr. Job is a conservationist, science communicator, natural sounds recordist, National Geographic Explorer, and bird watcher. He travels the country and world, documenting the sounds of nature in our nation's most treasured lands, building connections between people and these places, and working to advocate for their protection.

Voices of a Flyway

Gavia immer