A windy, early-June morning on the 100 year-old bridge that marks the start of northern California's Feather River from its marshy headwaters. You can hear above the wind, a varied population of marsh birds, frogs, a few distant cows, and the swirling flock of barn swallows who nest under the bridge. At one moment, you'll hear the ringing clank of a yellow-headed blackbird landing on the bridge railing.

The Nature Sounds Society visits this site every year for their annual Field Recording Workshop precisely because it is such a sound-rich place to record. This stereo recording was made with a pair of Sennhieiser MKH-8040 cardiod microphones, mounted in an ORTF windscreen.

Sierra Valley, Marble Bridge, at 6:36am on June 4, 2022

Dawn at Yosemite's Mariposa Grove on Saturday, March 8th, 2014. This 8 minute segment starts about 6:20am. This is a quiet place, the volume has been increased by many times. The loudest part is at the very beginning.

Mariposa Grove, Yosemite 2014/03 Dawn

The sandhill cranes take center stage in this dawn chorus recording in the Sierra Valley Marsh near Portola, California. Cameo appearances by local livestock and vehicles on a highway several miles away.

This recording was made during the 2023 field recording workshop of the Nature Sound Society. The microphones were AT-4022 omni condensers on a Jecklin disk binaural baffle.

Sierra Valley Marsh, June 24, 2023, 5:33am

A chorus of insects and small forest birds dominate this mid-morning soundscape from the Carman Valley near Calpine, California. The roar of  a distant highway and agricultural equipment color the deep background.

This recording was made during the annual field recording workshop offered by the San Francisco-based Nature Sounds Society. This clip is a stereo (Lo/Ro) downmix of a 6-channel (4.2.0) immersive surround recording, amplified by over 24db. The microphones were all Sennheiser MKH-8000 series.

Carman Valley at 9:54am on June 24, 2023

Listen deep into the forest in this unusually quiet place along California's Highway 49. The usual small forest birds are present along with an occasional jay, a couple of drumming woodpeckers, and a finally a barking squirrel.

This recording was made during the annual field recording workshop of the Nature Sounds Society. This clip is a stereo (Lo/Ro) mixdown of a six channel immersive surround recording (4.0.2). The microphones are Sennheiser MKH-8000 series. This is a very quiet place—the recording was amplified 28dB for this upload.

Yuba Pass dawn chorus on June 25, 2023 at 6:28am

There's still a lot of wildlife activity in this late-morning recording in the Tahoe National Forest's Lincoln Meadow in northern California. Lincoln Meadow was made famous in the nature sounds recording community by Bernie Krause, who first recorded here in 1975 before it was heavily logged.

This recording was made during the 2024 Field Recording Workshop of the Nature Sounds Society. This is a stereo downmix of a six channel immersive surround recording (4.0.2). The microphones are Sennheiser MKH-8000 series. This is a very quiet place—the recording was amplified 28dB for this upload.

Lincoln Meadow mid-day, June 22, 2024

Bullfogs, clicking crustaceans, fishing coots, and other marsh bird fill the air in the dawn recording in the Sierra Valley March near Beckwourth, California. Downstream  is the headwaters of the Feather River. This riparian area attracts one of the largest stopovers of migrating birds in all of California.

This recording was made during the 2024 Field Recording Workshop of the Nature Sounds Society. This is an experiment with stereo microphones (Sennheiser MKH-8020 on a Jecklin disk baffle) above the water and a center-panned hydrophone in the water.

Sierra Valley Marsh w/hydrophone, June 22, 2024

You'll hear distant forest and chaparral birds, including ravens, jays, California quail, and woodpeckers, in spite of the distant roar of a park shuttle bus. This recording was made in a dry creek bed in the canyon near the east entrance Pinnacles National Park.

Recorded in stereo using Audio Technica AT-4022 microphones on a Jecklin disk baffle. This was a quiet place and the recording was amplified about 20 dB from the original level.

Chalone (dry) Creek at Pinnacles Dawn Chorus, November 29, 2024

This persistent squirrel barks for almost 8 minutes without a break at dawn in Yosemite's Mariposa Grove on October 2, 2015. Also audible is a generator at a mountaintop radio site almost a kilometer away at the summit of Wawona Point, various jet aircraft more than 10 miles away, a Stellar's jay, and the inherent hiss of the recording system clear down below 10_dB-A. This was a very quiet place! This clip has been boosted almost 50_dB from the raw recording. 

Persistent Squirrel, Mariposa Grove, Oct. 2, 2015

Dusk in Carman Valley in the northern Sierra Nevada. Recorded using AT4022 mics on a Jecklin Disk. Approximately 8pm on June 19, 2016.

Dusk chorus in Carman Valley on June 18, 2016

The coots are fishing, and the California quail are getting excited in this 8+ minutes of mid-spring dawn chorus at Mississippi Lake in Henry Coe State Park in California. The gentle wind sounds like a constant roar in this recording at a place and time that the loudest sound is under 45 dB-SPL.
This Lo/Ro stereo mixdown was recorded originally in 6-channel surround with surround and height microphones (suitable as a Dolby Atmos bed). Front mics are Sennheiser MKH-8020 on a Jecklin disk, surrounds are AT-4022 omnis, and the 12' high height mic is the BP4024 stereo, pointed up.
This upload has been amplified 36 dB from the original 24-bit recording level, the loudest peaks are 4.5 dB below digital maximum.

Dawn Chorus at Mississippi Lake, 5:33am on May 13, 2017

A chorus of uncountable insects dominate this later-morning recording at Carman Valley in the northern Sierra Nevada, near Calpine, California. You’ll hear squirrels barking, nuthatches, blackbirds, jays, bees, flies, and an unidentified distant bark. Given a playback system with good high-frequency definition, you'll find the insect chorus particularly intricate.

This was an amazingly quiet place; a person at the scene might call it silent. This upload has been amplified 34 dB from the original 24-bit recording level, the loudest peaks are 4.5 dB below digital maximum.

This was recorded during the 2017 Field Recording Workshop of the Nature Sounds Society. This Lo/Ro stereo mixdown was recorded originally in 6-channel surround with surround and height microphones (suitable as a Dolby Atmos bed). Front mics are Rode NT-1a in an ORTF configuration, surrounds are AT-4022 omnis, and the 12' high height mic is the BP4025 stereo, pointed up.

Mid-morning soundscape, Carman Valley, 9:46am on June 24, 2017

Amidst the background noise of two busy highways and a small airport, all occupied by vehicles with ineffective mufflers, a coyote chorus erupts in Sierra Valley at 5:17am on June 24, 2017. Toward the end, a Sand Hill Crane “audio-bombs” the scene.

As you'll hear in another clip from the same recording, the Sierra Valley marsh is a noisy place filled with many bird species, livestock, and motor vehicles. But the wildlife diversity in this place makes it hard to pass up as a nature sounds recording site.

This stereo recording was made with a pair of Sennhieiser MKH-8020 omnidirectional microphones, mounted on a Jecklin disk baffle.

Dawn coyote chorus, Sierra Valley, 5:17am on June 24, 2017

The cacophony of riparian birds coming to the marsh for their dawn sing-along is quite astonishing. I recognize bullfrogs, blackbirds, crows, sand hill cranes, and the spooky whipping tail noise of a snipe in this recording, but there is so much more here than that.

The Nature Sounds Society visits this site every year for their annual Field Recording Workshop precisely because it is such a sound-rich place to record. This is an earlier excerpt of a longer recording which also included a coyote chorus, which I uploaded separately.

This stereo recording was made with a pair of Sennhieiser MKH-8020 omnidirectional microphones, mounted on a Jecklin disk baffle.

Dawn chorus soundscape, Sierra Valley, 4:52am on June 24, 2017

This recording is a bit of a hearing test, with hundreds of crickets in every direction, making sounds at pitches well above the upper limit of human hearing. If you can hear them, the richness is quite immersive.

This Lo/Ro stereo mixdown was recorded originally in 6-channel surround with surround and height microphones (suitable as a Dolby Atmos bed). Front mics are Sennheiser MKH-8020 on a Jecklin disk, surrounds are AT-4022 omnis, and the 12' high height mic is the BP4024 stereo, pointed up.

This upload has been amplified 40 dB from the original 24-bit recording level, the loudest peaks are 14 dB below digital maximum.

Cricket hearing test, Mississippi Lake, 9:06pm on August 4, 2017

A coot and an unidentified small songbird sing this duet of alarm which seems coordinated. About 3:15’ into the clip, we discover why, as a hawk swooshes overhead, sounding a bit like a distant jet.

This Lo/Ro stereo mixdown was recorded originally in 6-channel surround with surround and height microphones (suitable as a Dolby Atmos bed). Front mics are Sennheiser MKH-8020 on a Jecklin disk, surrounds are AT-4022 omnis, and the 12' high height mic is the BP4024 stereo, pointed up.

This upload has been amplified 25 dB from the original 24-bit recording level, the loudest peaks are 1 dB below digital maximum.

Danger duet soundscape, Mississippi Lake, 7:38am on December 9, 2017

A long freight train, almost three miles away, provides a backdrop for a varied population of marsh birds, frogs, and a few distant cows. Recorded on a steel bridge, the recording includes many barn swallows who nest under the bridge.

This recording is a bit of an homage to Gordon Hempton "The Sound Tracker" , and his famous "Iron Horse Echoes" duet of a freight train and a meadowlark. This recording is not nearly as simple and elegant as Gordon's, but it is a portrait of a special place.

The Nature Sounds Society visits this site every year for their annual Field Recording Workshop precisely because it is such a sound-rich place to record. This stereo recording was made with a pair of Sennhieiser MKH-8020 omnidirectional microphones, mounted on a Jecklin disk baffle.

SteveSgt

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