This track features the haunting vocalizations of the Common Loon. The ambient "roar" you'll hear is the sound of gentle night breezes swishing through the treetops of large Red Pines nearby. (One critical listener calls this element "sublime.") Recorded late May, 2008. Skies were mostly clear; winds were light and variable; temp. was in the low 50s (F).

Midnight Loons - Wagner Lake

I did some noise editing in an attempt to hear their calls more clearly, and identify the direction and number of individuals. 

Recorded overnight on April 10th, 2019 in Nelson County, KY.

Coyotes Echo Through the Hills 2019 - 04 - 10

A little flock of migrating Whooper Swans rested for some days in the bay area near us. Years before this was rather common; there could be hundreds of swans yoking all the night on the bay, but as the Whooper Swan breeded to southern Finland, these migrating flocks disappeared.

Anyway, still waiting for more to come, I couldn't resist making a short recording though they were rather silent.  This is from an over night recording, and this ten minute was the most of their sounding.

www.baltic.fi

(AT4022 ab60cm, Mixpre3, +10 dB in post, 24/48, flac)

Jan Eerala Finland

Swans (and flights) - 26/9/2019 - Makholma Bay

A lone hyena howling in Harenna forest on a very dark night. Recorded with unattended drop rig (Sony PCM D10 and Lom MikroUsi mics). Follow my field recording adventures in Ethiopia at https://youtu.be/PPSDChYuU2c

Harenna Hyena

A large oak tree in New Orleans' City Park has several well wind chimes hanging from the branches to provide the park with a peaceful and meditative space.

Recorded with a Sanken CSS-5 stereo shotgun mircrophone.

The Singing Tree Social Distances

blog: http://soundeziner.com/2020/05/long-swamp-dusk-20190716/

I’ve fallen in love with the Okanogan mountains, the wet meadows, swampy bogs, forests, grassy ridge tops, and more. Most of the naturally quiet locations are difficult to reach from Seattle, but that’s fine by me. It just means more opportunities to record with without interruption.

On the night of 2019-07-17 I camped, once again, near Long Swamp. I’d spent the previous night and Dawn at the Long Swamp Campground (https://soundcloud.com/soundeziner/long-swamp-dawn), but this night I found a location further up the drainage with more open water.

There are plenty of residents, full-time and transitory, in Long Swamp. Song Sparrows, Lincoln’s Sparrows, Swainson’s Thrushes, American Robins, Mallard Ducks and more make their homes here. There was activity all around.

The air was still as I sat down to record; the temperature a chill 60ºF/ 15.5ºC, and the moon was expected to be full. By the start of this recording at 1944, I was long settled into my tent for a nice evening of listening.

I could hear distinct non-song vocalization from Swainson’s Thrushes. The crisp clear air, chill wetland water, and hardwood reflections off nearby trees made for the perfect medium. Listen to the one-note call of a nearby Swainson’s: at 12m35s (1957) It works through fitful song-starts to buzzes and churls as it warms up 13m08s (1958). By the time he’s opened up for his full song at 15m40s (1800), he’s been joined by distant rivals on all sides. Each is as clear as he is. Only their volume betrays their distance.

If you’re wondering “churl” is, check out the series at 18m08s (1803). Most birders call it “churr”, and the phonetics are really more of a “tchik-wOow”, but I really like the descriptive appeal of “churl” a lot more. Besides, it’s fun to say, “Those thrushes sure are churlish today, aren’t they?”

The local Thrushes wander off by 20m50s (2005), and we're left with a period of distant mingling song before our first Song Sparrow shows up around 24m16s (2009). Song Sparrows are fun to listen to for their spritely personalities the range of songs each bird goes through. Individual pulls from a variety of distinct phrases to develop its own repertoire. It can be easy to be fooled into believing you’re surrounded by multiple sparrows, when it’s really just one. Check it out:
1h01m12s (2046) —  over the next 50 seconds this one individual pulls out four slight variations of the same theme.
Again at 1h06m24s (2051)
And again at 1h11m50s (2057) — he does it again over two minutes.

Take a listen to this ten minute stretch from 0623 the following morning https://soundcloud.com/soundeziner/20190717-long-swamp-dawn#t=1:55:50 It’s not necessarily the same bird from evening, but this is clearly one individual going through at least five distinct variations and many subtle permutations in one long sitting. So. Much. Fun.

Sun set this evening at 2047 or 1h02m31s, signaling the start of Dusk. It’s a common misconception that Dusk is the period before sunset. Just as Dawn ends with the sun’s rise over the horizon, so does Dusk start when it dips below. Dusk ends with Last Light and Civil Twilight makes way to Nautical Twilight at the same time. This occurs when the sun is about 6 degrees below the horizon. On clear days there’s just enough light for most outdoor activities that don’t require reading. Tonight that Changeover is 2127 at 1h42m31s.

This evening comes to a quiet close with what has long been one of my favorite mystery sounds at 1h49m45s (2124) This noisy insect — one of the few we have here in Washington — is a frequent, loud voice throughout the inland forests of the Pacific Northwest. I have yet to find a reliable identification of it. It often goes unnoticed due to its high pitch. The bulk of its acoustic energy is between 12.6kHz and 14.5kHz, out of range for many adults, especially males over 45. If you have a name for it, please leave a comment below or message me.

Long Swamp, Dusk, 2019-07-16

Green tree frogs croak “grunk-grunk” at midnight after days of rain breaks the dry season in Everglades National Park, Florida. Underneath are pig frogs’ low “oinks” and the “clack-clack” of southern cricket frogs. Recorded May 2020 in NOS stereo with Line Audio CM3s & SoundDevices MixPre-3, no low cut, 68 db gain.

Green Tree Frog Grunk

May 27, 2012, 9:37-10:47 PM: Eastern Gray Tree Frogs sing to a late spring thunderstorm in the Crex Meadows Wildlife Area, Burnett County, Wisconsin. American Toads, Spring Peepers, and the occasional Chorus Frog can also be heard.

Recorded with 4 Audio-Technica AT3032 microphones in partially baffled boundary arrays to Tascam DR-680, 48khz 16 bit. Mixed to stereo from 4 channel source. No Equalization.

A Rainy Night in Burnett County

A Rainy Night In Burnett County

Playing a sound in a different speed is always a fascinating thing to do. Specially when it comes to nature sounds. Take this simple insect chorus. Played at half speed sounds incredibly otherworldly, its like you are taken back into the prehistoric. Hope you enjoy the listening experience.

Insects - Crickets Chorus Played At Half Speed

A lone Grey Wolf howls in the late morning, losing itself to the natural reverb of a glacial valley

Grey Wolves were all but extirpated from Washington early in the last century. They've been on a slow but steady recovery now for decades. While still a species of high concern in the Northwest, occasions of hearing their mournful cries are thankfully becoming more and more common.

This is not without controversy, unfortunately, as ranchers fear their livelihoods will be destroyed and hunters express concern over the competition for game animals. My general feeling is this is good, however. The mass numbers of humanity living in former wolf territory and the introduction of highly destructive and invasive farm and game animals such as cattle, pigs, chickens, bullfrogs, pheasant, etc, have had long-lasting, oft-permanent destructive consequences on our ecological systems. That wolves are able to reclaim some territory on their own despite the historical effort to eliminate them is a testimony to their tenacity as a species.

The challenges are great, though, and humanity does not make it easy for other apex predators to survive in a world we claim as our own to despoil at will. Wolves need help all around North America. To help recovery efforts and the benefits they can provide, consider supporting a conservation effort such as The International Wolf Center https://wolf.org or a sanctuary and rehabilitation center such as Wolf Haven International https://wolfhaven.org. For more information on their spread and recovery in Washington, read this informational pamphlet from the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife https://bit.ly/2NvfgXW

image credit: "File:Grey Wolf Portrait.jpg" by Jean Beaufort is marked with CC0 1.0. To view the terms, visit http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en?ref=openverse.

Lone Wolf Howls

Coyotes and Wolves seemingly not wanting to be outdone, their howls drown in the lush reverberation of a deep basaltic-walled glacial valley.

Grey Wolves were all but extirpated from Washington early in the last century. They've been on a slow but steady recovery now for decades, assisted by a few relocated individuals from Canada. While still a species of high concern in the Northwest, occasions of hearing their cries are thankfully becoming more and more common.

This is not without controversy, unfortunately, as ranchers fear their livelihoods will be destroyed and hunters express concern over the competition for game animals. My general feeling is this is good, however. The mass numbers of humanity living in former wolf territory and the introduction of highly destructive and invasive farm and game animals such as cattle, pigs, chickens, bullfrogs, pheasant, etc, have had long-lasting, oft-permanent destructive consequences on our ecological systems. That wolves are able to reclaim some territory on their own despite the historical effort to eliminate them is a testimony to their tenacity as a species.

The challenges are great, though, and humanity does not make it easy for other apex predators to survive in a world we claim as our own to despoil at will. Wolves need help all around North America. To help recovery efforts and the benefits they can provide, consider supporting a conservation effort such as The International Wolf Center https://wolf.org or a sanctuary and rehabilitation center such as Wolf Haven International https://wolfhaven.org. For more information on their spread and recovery in Washington, read this informational pamphlet from the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife https://bit.ly/2NvfgXW

image credit: "File:Grey Wolf Portrait.jpg" by Jean Beaufort is marked with CC0 1.0. To view the terms, visit http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en?ref=openverse.

Coyotes And Wolves Call-and-Response

Listener of soundscapes & wildlife
www.lukewarmsound.com

Music Production - Berklee College of Music
Wildlife & Conservation Biology - Colorado State University

Contact: lukewarmsound@gmail.com

Coyotes Echo Through the Hills 2019 - 04 - 10

Lukewarm Sound

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